NAIROBI, Kenya — Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo has alleged that he was offered Sh10 million by individuals he described as Kenya Kwanza operatives to support the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during the Senate vote in October 2024.
Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Thursday, Maanzo claimed he rejected the alleged offer after being warned that his safety would be at risk if he accepted the money but failed to vote in favour of the impeachment.
“I was approached on a condition that I take money and vote YES and that if I take it and vote NO I will not get to my house. It was Sh10 million from government agents,” Maanzo alleged.
He said the individuals were not Members of Parliament but were seasoned political operatives aligned with the Kenya Kwanza administration.
“They are not in the House, but they are people who have been in politics for a long time, Kenya Kwanza operatives close to the President,” he added.
The allegations come days after a series of public remarks by politicians claiming that legislators were bribed during the impeachment process that removed Gachagua from office.
National Assembly Minority Leader and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed recently claimed that money was distributed to lawmakers in both the National Assembly and the Senate to secure support for the impeachment motion.
According to Junet, Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot allegedly coordinated the distribution of the funds.
“Wakati tulikuwa tunafukuza Gachagua kazi, kuna kitu ilitembea hapo. Huko Bunge. Accounting officer alikuwa Aaron Cheruiyot,” Junet said during a joint United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) convention in Kakamega on July 26.
Lang’ata MP Felix Odiwuor, popularly known as Jalang’o, also alleged that lawmakers received varying amounts of money depending on individual negotiations.
“Watu walikula, watu walifurahia. Ilikuwa inadepend unamwongelesha nani na saa ngapi. Bila kutaja ilikuwa ngapi kuna watu walikula mingi, wachache. Minority leader ashasema pesa ilikuwepo. Watu walikula,” he said during an interview on Alex Mwakideu’s AMTV podcast.
Following the remarks, Gachagua, who now leads the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), called on the Judiciary to take judicial notice of the public admissions, arguing that they support claims he has consistently made about the circumstances surrounding his impeachment.
“We are asking our courts and our judges to take judicial notice of what these people are saying. If they are confessing in public they were bribed then the judges must dispense justice. It is what we have always known,” Gachagua said during consultations with a party delegation from Nyeri on Wednesday.
The allegations emerge after the High Court dismissed Gachagua’s petition challenging his impeachment while awarding him Sh50 million in constitutional damages after finding that his right to a fair hearing had been violated during the Senate proceedings.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices Eric Ogolla, Anthony Mrima and Frida Mugambi upheld the impeachment but ruled that aspects of the process infringed on his constitutional rights.
The judgment has attracted mixed reactions from legal experts. Former Chief Justice David Maraga questioned the consistency of awarding damages while allowing the impeachment to stand, arguing that violations of the right to a fair hearing should have had broader constitutional consequences.
Lawyer Donald Kipkorir described the decision as a “judicial absurdity,” while former Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo said the ruling raises important questions about the appropriate remedies where constitutional violations occur during impeachment proceedings.
No independent evidence has been presented publicly to substantiate Senator Maanzo’s bribery allegations, and the individuals mentioned in the claims had not publicly responded at the time of publication.
