Good morning and a warm welcome to our live blog of day two of Gachagua’s impeachment trial in the Senate.
Thursday is expected to be the last day of the impeachment process, but the Senate passed a resolution to extend it to Friday should the motion not reach its conclusion.
Crucially, today we expect to hear Gachagua’s side of things, with Gachagua’s team expected to have five hours cumulatively to make their case and present its witnesses.
9:00am – Hearing Begins
The impeachment trial has started.
According to the schedule released by Speaker Amason Kingi, the Senate is expected to finish hearing the evidence through witnesses from the National Assembly at 9am.
Follow proceedings LIVE here:
8:30am – What to Expect in Senate Today
If all things go according to plan, the Senate is expected to vote on all the 11 charges facing Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from 8:05pm on Thursday.
From 10:30am, Gachagua will have three hours to present his defence. This is slated to end at about 1pm after which Gachagua, who is the only witness in his case, will take the stand. According to the outline, Gachagua will take the stand from 2:30pm.
On Wednesday, the National Assembly laid its case with two witnesses taking the stand after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja pulled out for another engagement.
The National Assembly introduced new evidence from state agencies in a bid to bolster their case. However, the cross-examination of the mover of the impeachment motion, Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse was the highlight of the day.
Gachagua’s defence sought to depose Mutuse on issue-by-issue basis on some of the 11 charges ranging from gross misconduct to subordination.
On Thursday, Gachagua’s team takes center stage, with Gachagua himself expected in the dock. He will face cross-examination.
The schedule shows both the National Assembly and Gachagua’s team have 60 minutes each to make their closing remarks between 5pm and 7pm.
There after, the Senate will have an open session, where Senators will voice opinions before heading to voting.