Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua yesterday moved to dismantle the impeachment motion against him terming the accusations as baseless, malicious, forced by people with ulterior malice and greed for power.

Gachagua denied claims of corruption citing his late brother and former Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua assets in defense as the source of some of the resources and cash mentioned in the motion as proceeds of corruption.

Addressing a press conference at his Karen official residence, Gachagua denied accusations of corruption and fraudulent property acquisition, stating that he would defend himself before the National Assembly this afternoon.

In a calculated move ahead of today’s impeachment trial, the DP attributed his vast wealth ranging from hotels, land, apartments, homes and businesses to his late brother Nderitu.

Sensational trash

He also attributed his wealth, which is claimed to be proceeds of crime to acumen and investment by his children through bank credit. The DP painted a picture of a man who believes that he was being removed for differing with President William Ruto terming today’s motion as ‘sensational trash’.

And for the first time, the DP publicly revealed why he fell out with his boss the president, saying it started after he turned down a directive to oversee the eviction of innocent people along the Nairobi River.

“I declined to oversee the exercise as it was against our pledge during campaigns to evict our people without offering alternative settlement,” he said.

He tore into the motion and its mover Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse for tabling a motion full of untruths and far fetched allegations.

“The motion brought by Hon Mwengi Mutuse is a fabrication and unfounded allegations engineered by people who want to remain in power by all means,” charged the DP.

“Debate in parliament tomorrow (today) will be a theatre of absurdity where lies will be defended as some people struggle to hound me out of office,” Gachagua said.

He also revisited the issue of shareholding he has been accused of dividing Kenyans with, saying he has been speaking on it in reference to the signed agreement by the three principals of the Kenya Kwanza administration.

“Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula bargained for and signed for 30 percent shares in Kenya Kwanza government for Luhyas before election, including resources.i did not come up with the shares idea,” he explained.

He added,” Amason Kingi fought for his position, he is now the Speaker of the Senate, as has been Raila Odinga who joined us recently, he got his shares.”

During a press conference on Monday, Gachagua denied accusations of corruption and fraudulent property acquisition, stating that he would defend himself before the National Assembly.

The DP dismissed all the allegations made by the mover of the motion as  “outrageous and baseless propaganda” intended to tarnish his reputation and remove him from office.

Pseudo companies

On the issue of enriching himself to the tune of Sh 5.7 billion using pseudo companies, Gachagua said a majority of the properties and assets mentioned in the motion belonged to his late brother, who died in 2017 of pancreatic cancer.

“In his will, my late brother bequeathed his properties, assets, and cash. Among them were the Olive Garden Hotel, Vipingo Beach Resort, Queens Gate Apartment, and Langata Highrise Flats,” Gachagua stated.

He said “Hon Mutuse in his wisdom or lack of it alleges I acquired these properties after becoming deputy president in 2022, despite the fact that my brother died in 2017.”

Gachagua explained that his late brother had appointed him, lawyer Njoroge Regeru and one Mwai Mathenge as executors of his will.

Part of the funds in his account came from the sale of the Olive Garden Hotel, as specified in the will.

On the controversial mosquito net scandal, in which his son had been implicated, contrary to the allegations, his son never won tenders for the said deal since it was only for manufacturers.

He explained that the company at the centre of the issue, Shobika Impex Limited, had appointed Crystal Kenya as their local agent to handle logistical tasks and monitor supplies at the ports of entry.

Gachagua emphasised that the tendering process was carried out by Shobika, not Crystal Kenya.

When the tender did not succeed, his son, Keith Rigathi contacted the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) to enquire about the status of the bid bond on behalf of Crystal Kenya.

He however admitted that he personally contacted KEMSA acting CEO Andrew Mulwa after learning that Sh500 million had been paid as a bid bond had not been released.

“KEMSA informed me that the money had been seized by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) while the matter was being investigated and I allowed it to rest there,” he said.

The anti graft agency however closed the case and returned the bid bond without any reservations.

The DP dismissed the weekend public participation exercise, which sought Kenyans’ opinions on his proposed ouster.

He described the process as a sham, poorly executed and inaccessible to many citizens.

“The public participation was a shoddy exercise that most Kenyans couldn’t comprehend. The accusations were presented in highly legalistic language, making it difficult for people to make an informed decision. Additionally, my response wasn’t included in the materials provided to the public,” Gachagua said.

According to him, the motion against him will be a shameful act in Kenya’s parliament history, as legislators will attempt to remove a democratically elected leader based on fabrications.

He told MPs not dwell on matters that were not of importance to the electorate and urged them to debate on serious plunder of public resources going on in government, especially in the health sector.

The motion proceeded to public participation across the 47 counties after gaining support from 291 lawmakers in the National Assembly.