By Peter Ochieng
Cabinet Secretary (CS) for agriculture Franklin Mithika Linturi is staring at becoming the first minister to be impeached, under President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration.
Members of Parliament (MPs) on Thursday voted in favour of a motion to impeach the CS, over the much publicised fake fertiliser scandal.
A total of 149 members voted in favour of the motion by Bumula MP Jack Wamboka, while only 36 voted against. Three members abstained from the vote.
That means a select team will now be put in place to probe allegations levelled against the former Meru Senator.
The team must be in place seven days after the vote.
Article 152 of the Kenyan Constitution states that the President shall nominate and appoint Cabinet Secretaries with the approval of the National Assembly.
The Head of State shall not nominate fewer than 14 and not more than 22 Cabinet Secretaries. Unlike in the previous constitution, the 2010 constitution dictates that a Cabinet Secretary shall not be a Member of Parliament.
The Office of a Cabinet Secretary becomes vacant if he/she resigns by delivering a written statement of resignation to the President; is dismissed by the President; or is dismissed by the President following a resolution passed by the National Assembly, through impeachment, requiring the President to dismiss a Cabinet Secretary.
Article 152 (6) of the Constitution says that a member of the National Assembly, supported by at least one-quarter of all the members of the Assembly, may propose a motion requiring the President to dismiss a Cabinet Secretary.
The grounds for the removal of a Cabinet Secretary are; gross violation of a provision of the Constitution or any other law; where there are serious reasons for believing that the Cabinet Secretary has committed a crime under national or international law; or for gross misconduct.
If at least one-third of the members of the National Assembly support a motion to remove a Cabinet Secretary, the Assembly shall appoint a select committee comprising eleven of its members to investigate the matter; and the select committee shall, within ten days, report to the Assembly whether it finds the allegations against the Cabinet Secretary to be substantiated.
The Cabinet Secretary has the right to appear and be represented before the select committee during its investigations.
If the select committee reports that it finds the allegations unsubstantiated, no further proceedings shall occur; or if substantiated, the National Assembly shall afford the Cabinet Secretary an opportunity to be heard; and vote on whether to approve the resolution requiring the dismissal of a Cabinet Secretary.
If a majority of the members of the National Assembly support a resolution requiring the President to dismiss a Cabinet Secretary, the Speaker of the National Assembly shall promptly deliver the resolution to the President; and the President shall dismiss the Cabinet Secretary