Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi is a man under siege with government-leaning MPs appearing to have abandoned him in his hour of need.
On Thursday, the impeachment motion against the embattled minister sailed through with relative ease, putting to doubt the Kenya Kwanza Alliance’s much-vaunted “tyranny of numbers” in the National Assembly.
President Ruto’s lieutenants faced a humiliating defeat on the floor of the House as their quest to raise preliminary objections on technical grounds to forestall the process fell flat on its face.
Mr Linturi’s impeachment motion, sponsored by Bumula MP Jack Wamboka, was approved 149 to 36, which paves the way for the Select Committee to investigate the three allegations against the CS on the saga of substandard fertiliser under a government subsidy.
The Select Committee should report its findings to the House within 10 days. The fate of Mr Linturi now lies in the hands of the lawmakers as he inches closer to becoming the first CS under the 2010 Constitution to be impeached.
According to Article 152 of the Constitution, if the allegations are unsubstantiated, no further action shall be taken but if well canvassed, Mr Linturi will be invited to defend himself and the House will vote to either approve or reject the resolution.
If the House approves the resolution of the committee, the Speaker shall deliver the verdict to the President who shall dismiss the CS.
Another minister is also said to be on the radar of MPs and could also be taken through the same procedure of ouster.
A series of late night meetings, according to our sources, were held on Wednesday to defeat the motion ahead of the debate on Thursday. The CS is reported to have reached out to some MPs. The meetings are said to have taken place in various hotels in Upper Hill and Karen in Nairobi.
“The CS reached out but it was too late. We defended our decision to append our signatures because this is a very emotive matter and the farmers want justice,” an MP said.
