Here is what you need to know to keep up to speed with today’s happenings.
DP Gachagua’s impeachment
A motion of impeachment against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is expected to be tabled in parliament today, Tuesday, October 1, 2024, and will likely feature among the day’s top news events.
This comes a day after the High Court declined to issue interim orders to stop Parliament from processing a motion to impeach DP Gachagua.
Former Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala’s petition to prevent Parliament from proceeding with the impeachment motion is among the petitions that were dismissed by the High Court.
Notice of special motion for Gachagua’s removal will be tabled in the afternoon by one of the Members of Parliament supporting his ouster.
Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah has since confirmed that the impeachment motion will be tabled on Tuesday at 2:30 PM.
The motion requires the support of 233 MPs to pass, and reports show that as of Sunday, 302 members of Parliament had already appended their signatures on it.
Gachagua is facing multiple charges, including violating Article 10, according to his accusers, who claim his public statements were inciteful and capable of instilling ethnic hatred.
The second in command will also be required to defend himself against allegations of illegally acquiring assets with taxpayer funds, which are reportedly located in Nyeri, Nairobi, and Kilifi counties.
Gachagua has, however, denied allegations that his children bought the iconic TreeTops hotel in Aberdare National Park.
Speaking to reporters from the Rift Valley region on Monday, September 30, 2024, Gachagua clarified that his children, Kelvin and Keith, do not do business with the government and have instead taken out a loan to lease the hotel from Kenya Wildlife Services.
“They have leased this hotel from KWS, not purchased it,” Gachagua stated.
Morara Kebaso
Political activist Morara Kebaso will likely be produced in court, after he was arrested at his Kahawa Sukari offices under unclear circumstances on Monday, September 30, 2024.
The law requires one to be arraigned in court within 24 hours of their arrest.
During the arrest, his electronic devices including phones and laptops were reportedly seized.
His lawyer, Pareno Solonka, stated that Kebaso had been held incommunicado since his arrest, with officers claiming to be following “orders from above.”
Initially, Kebaso was taken to the Regional Police Headquarters in Nairobi, before reports started circulating later in the evening that he was being transferred to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters in Kiambu.
Activists and political leaders have since joined hands in calling for Kebaso’s release.
His arrest has stirred mixed reactions online, with netizens uniting to call for his immediate release under a now-trending hashtag, #FreeMoraraKebaso.
Busia senator and activist Okiya Omtatah in a statement issued via his official X account on Monday night indicated that he had camped at the DCI Headquarters to demand for Kebaso’s release.
