Suna East MP and National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed has offered a fresh account of ODM lawmakers’ participation in the 2024 impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, describing the move as a reckoning for what he termed mistreatment during Gachagua’s two years in office.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV’s The Explainer on Tuesday night, August 11, Junet said ODM MPs had a strong personal and political motivation to support Gachagua’s removal after his alleged conduct towards opposition leaders and supporters.
“For us to impeach Gachagua as ODM was like a duty for the sufferings we went through in his hands when he was the DP for two years,” Junet said.
He accused Gachagua of abusing and harassing ODM politicians and supporters, claiming that the former Deputy President used the security apparatus under then Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome against the opposition.
“He did many bad things to us. We were just waiting for God Almighty to bring him into our hands, and God brought him,” Junet added.
Gachagua was impeached by the National Assembly in October 2024 after lawmakers considered an 11-ground motion against him.
The motion secured the required constitutional threshold before being transmitted to the Senate, which later upheld five of the charges and removed him from office.
Junet said ODM lawmakers had discussed the matter extensively before deciding to support the impeachment, arguing that the vote was not driven solely by political calculations.
He further described the process as bipartisan, saying lawmakers from different political formations had become dissatisfied with Gachagua’s conduct.
“Gachagua was impeached in a bipartisan manner. People were tired of him,” he said.
The Minority Leader, however, was pressed to explain previous remarks in which he had claimed that money changed hands during the impeachment process.
Junet subsequently clarified that he personally did not receive any payment to vote for Gachagua’s removal.
“I did not receive any money. I did not need any money to impeach Gachagua,” he said.
According to Junet, his earlier comments were made in reference to alleged lobbying around the impeachment rather than an admission that he personally had been paid.
“You have to look at some things in political context. Parliament across the world has lobbying systems, people lobby each other,” he explained.