Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohamed has dropped a political bombshell after revealing that President William Ruto’s government paid Members of Parliament handsomely to impeach former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Speaking in Kakamega County on Sunday at a joint ODM-UDA broad-based rally, Junet, who is also the Minority Leader in Parliament, confessed to bribery in the National Assembly and the Senate, which overwhelmingly voted in support of the impeachment motion in October 2024.
According to Junet, Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot was the custodian of the money that was dished out to Members of Parliament.
“Wakati tulikuwa tunafukuza Gachagua kazi, kuna kitu ilitembea hapo. Huko Bunge. Accounting officer alikuwa Aaron Cheruiyot,” he said .
He further claimed that some MPs did not put the money to good use, advising them to build good houses instead of squandering it. Junet also made an indirect reference to the controversy surrounding a video of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s home, which had gone viral and sparked discussion about its modest appearance relative to his public profile.
“Sasa wengine wanatuambia wako na watu, na wanataka kutupeleka kwa mtu sisi tuli-impeach, tulifukuza yeye kazi. Na unajua Waziri, wakati tulikuwa tunafukuza Rigathi Gachagua kazi, kuna kitu ilitembea hapo… huku Bunge, wacha niseme ukweli,” Junet added .
The statement has only stoked the political fire. It also marks a stunning reversal from Junet’s earlier remarks during the impeachment process, where he had boasted of ODM’s role in removing Gachagua, claiming that Ruto’s UDA would not have mustered sufficient numbers without ODM support. That same man now jokes about money circulating in the same chamber during the same vote, stripping the process of whatever institutional dignity remained attached to it.
Gachagua himself had made identical allegations long before, claiming MPs were paid KSh500,000 each to support his removal while senators received as much as KSh10 million apiece. Those allegations were largely dismissed by his opponents as the grievances of a man who had lost power. Junet’s remarks have made them significantly harder to dismiss.
Cheruiyot, who has now been named as the alleged accounting officer for the payments, has not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of publication. Meanwhile, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission is facing calls to open a formal inquiry into the matter.
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