Why Uhuru can’t be impeached even after Koome recommended his removal
By Mary Ouko, June 11, 2022
Chief Justice Martha Koome wants President Uhuru Kenyatta impeached for failing to appoint six judges proposed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
According to CJ Koome, the answer to President Kenyatta’s refusal to appoint six out of the 40 judges nominated is his removal from office.
“It is proposed that the court makes a declaration that the President… is in violation of Articles 3(1) and 166(1)(b) of the Constitution. A declaration that the appropriate remedy for the violation of Articles 3(1) and 166(1)(b) of the Constitution is the impeachment of the President or any other order that secures direct accountability of the President,”Koome’s court papers read.
President Kenyatta refused to appoint the six judges citing a National Intelligence Service (NIS) report that had revealed that all the six are ‘soiled’.
The six judges include; Justices, George Odunga, Prof Joel Ngugi, Weldon Korir, Aggrey Muchelule, Chief Magistrate Evans Makori and High Court deputy registrar Judith Omange.
Koome won’t succeed in impeaching Uhuru
The Constitution provides for two ways to remove the President. First through impeachment and second on grounds of incapacity.
The National Assembly with at least a third of all the members may set in motion an act to impeach the President. MPs may do so on the grounds of gross violation of the Constitution or any other law, where there are reasons to believe that the President has committed a crime under national or international law or for gross misconduct.
If the motion to impeach passes in the National Assembly the act to impeach moves to the Senate and if at least two-thirds of all the members of the Senate vote to uphold any impeachment charge, the President shall cease to hold office.
At it currently stands, the Parliament that is supposed to impeach the President was dissolved on Thursday, June 9, 2022.
Similarly, Uhuru is just 8 weeks away from the expiry of his tenure as the country is set to choose its next President on August 9.