Havi: Why Gachagua’s impeachment was pivotal in citizens’ demands for accountability
By Luke Oluoch, February 10, 2025Former Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi has termed the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as a crucial step in aiding the electorates’ demands for accountability from their leaders.
According to the lawyer, the process by which Gachagua was ousted from office lowered the bar by which Kenyans can hold leaders accountable by upholding Chapter 6 of the 2010 constitution.
The chapter details the highest levels of responsibility demanded of state officers upon their assumption of office.
Speaking during an appearance on local TV on Monday, February 10, 2025, Havi revealed that he was never in support of the impeachment process except for that specific premise.
Lowered bar
“I did not agree with Gachagua’s impeachment. Not because he is a good person. He’s the worst of the leaders we ever had. I agreed with his impeachment for an ulterior motive; It sets the bar low and enabled people of Kenya to have control over the accountability and integrity tools given to them under the constitution’ Havi said.
Nelson Havi: I did not agree with the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua not because he is a good person. It set the bar low. It enabled the people of Kenya to have control over the accountability and integrity tools given to them under the Constitution.#TheSituationRoom
— SpiceFM (@SpiceFMKE) February 10, 2025
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With the precedent, Havi stated that Kenyans can actively push for accountability on the part of leaders, as he emphasised cases where the members of parliament prove reluctance with political whims or other external factors.
“Unfortunately as far as parliamentary matters are concerned the exercise of this power first resides with the hands of the legislators. As I said before, the motion can only be moved by a sitting member of the assembly. It doesn’t preclude a sitting member to take action. They are least likely to take action knowing that their stomach is catered for,” he added.
First impeachment
In a landmark occurrence in Kenya’s political landscape, Gachagua became the first deputy president to be removed via impeachment in October 2022 since impeachment was introduced in Kenya’s revised 2010 constitution.
A total of 282 Members of Parliament (MPs) on October 8, 2024, voted to impeach Gachagua, while 44 backed him.
This after Gachagua faced 11 counts of impeachment revolving around gross violation of the Constitution, engaging in ethnically divisive politics, insubordination, abuse of office and corruption among others.
Despite the ouster, Gachagua has been adamant that he can still hold public office stressing that his his impeachment is not an end to his political career.
Repercussions of ouster
On Tuesday, February 4, 2025, Gachagua opined that his impeachment does not bar him from contesting in the 2027 elections, claiming that he retains the constitutional right to contest for office.
“It is not a must that I be Kenya’s leader; there are many people who can lead. I will be part of the team that will make decisions. But no one has stopped me from running for office—I have an ongoing court case,” he said.
Gachagua referenced President William Ruto and former President Uhuru Kenyatta, noting that both ran for office in 2013 while facing charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Uhuru Kenyatta and Ruto ran for office while they had cases at The Hague. Kenya’s Constitution is clear that if you have a pending court case, your right to contest for a seat cannot be taken away. So if I want to run, I will run,” he said.