State offered me Sh4 million to impeach Gachagua, Senator Maanzo says

Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo claims he was offered a Sh4 million bribe to vote in favor of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's impeachment.  

This comes months after Gachagua was impeached when lawmakers unanimously voted in support of his ouster motion.

Speaking Tuesday morning on Citizen TV, the legislator alleged that the bribe was offered by people he termed as ‘state agents’ seeking to influence the voting process against the former DP.  

“In Gachagua’s matter, there was such an approach, and it had conditions. It was an offer of Sh4 million if you vote YES. If you take the money and go ahead and vote NO, then you'd not get to your home," said Maanzo, implying that senators who opposed the impeachment were subjected to threats.  

Gachagua was impeached on October 18 in the Senate. Of the 11 charges against him, senators upheld five, with 45 voting to remove him, affirming the National Assembly’s decision.  

Maanzo is not the first senator to raise bribery allegations. 

After Gachagua’s impeachment, Nyandarua Senator John Methu claimed that an unprecedented lobbying effort took place, involving colossal amounts of money—up to Sh10 million—to secure votes for the DP’s removal at the expense of a fair trial.  

The former DP had also alleged that MPs received bribes  during secret meetings to facilitate his impeachment. 

"Meetings have been held in Nyahururu, meetings were also held in Kitisuru in the house of a CS—we know what was being discussed. We know the amount of money that exchanged hands. We know these things," said Gachagua on September 20.  

According to Maanzo, the so-called “state agents” were Members of Parliament and staff from the ‘Hill’ who were pushing for a 100 percent pro-impeachment vote in the Senate, undermining the independence of the House.  

"This bribery in the House must stop. We are running the country through bribes," he added.  

Gachagua’s impeachment was historic, as he became the first deputy president to be removed in absentia since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution.