Process of Impeaching the President in Kenya: What the lay says

Impeaching the president in Kenya: Up until the National Rainbow Alliance Coalition, issues such as reforming the constitution or impeaching the president were inconceivable. Few people knew that the Kenyan Constitution sets out the procedure for removing or impeaching the president. The constitution vests the power of impeaching the president on the Senate and National Assembly. Here are some of the grounds for impeaching the president and the process involved.

A motion for impeaching the president may be moved by a member of parliament on any of the following grounds:

• Gross violation of laws or provision of the constitution
• Reasons for believing the president has committed a crime that goes against national or international law
• Gross misconduct
• When the president is mentally or physically incapacitated

Process for Impeaching the President

If the motion to impeach the president is supported by two thirds of the national assembly, the speaker of the national assembly will inform the speaker of the senate within two days. The president is allowed to continue performing his duties pending the results of the proceedings. He cannot impede the proceedings but is required to cooperate with investigations involving his impeachment.

Seven days after getting notification from the Speaker of Parliament, the speaker of the Senate shall hold a meeting of the senate to discuss the charges against the head of state. The senate shall then appoint a committee made of eleven senators to look into the matter. The members appointed are expected to be non-partisan, impartial, and highly knowledgeable on matters of law. The president shall appear or be represented before the committee during these investigations. The committee shall report to Senate within or in ten days whether the allegations against the head of state have been substantiated.

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If the committee reports that the allegations have been substantiated, the Senate shall vote on impeaching the president. The head of state shall cease to hold office if two-thirds of the Senate vote on the impeachment motion. If the committee reports that the allegations against the president have not been substantiated, there will be no further proceedings on the matter.