Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Thursday, July 30, 2026. /SCREENGRABDebate over claims that lawmakers may have been offered money to support the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in October 2024 has intensified following fresh allegations by Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Thursday, Maanzo claimed senators were offered Sh10 million each to vote in favour of Gachagua's removal.
Asked whether he had been offered money to impeach Gachagua, Maanzo replied: "Yes, we were, and you heard Junet Mohamed confirm."
Maanzo was referring to remarks made by Suna East MP Junet Mohamed on Sunday, July 26, during a joint ODM-UDA political rally in Malava, Kakamega County.
"Kuna kitu kilitembea... wale wanajua kile nasema wanajua ninamaanisha nini."
Maanzo claimed he had personally turned down the alleged offer.
"I was approached, and I was given a condition. I was told, if you take this money, you must vote Yes. If you take it and run away, you will not get to your house. If you take it and vote No, you will not get to your house. And therefore I said I was going to vote No."
According to Maanzo, the alleged offer was Sh10 million, but he did not identify the person or people he claimed made it.
He declined to identify those he said were involved, saying doing so would compromise his security.
"If they were threatening me with death that time, why would I name them? I can't."
When asked whether the people he was referring to were fellow legislators, Maanzo said they were not.
"But they are people in politics. They are people who've been around politics for a long time."
The senator also said he did not report the alleged bribery attempt or the threats he claimed to have received.
"In politics, your life is permanently threatened. It was conditional. It was not negotiable. It was very serious."
Gachagua's impeachment
On October 1, 2024, Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse tabled an impeachment motion against Gachagua containing 11 charges, including gross violation of the constitution, insubordination and promoting divisive politics.
Gachagua denied all the accusations.
On October 8, 2024, the National Assembly overwhelmingly approved the motion after hearing his defence.
Nine days later, on October 17, the Senate upheld five of the 11 charges, making Gachagua the first Deputy President in Kenya's history to be impeached.
The upheld charges related to gross violation of the Constitution through his public remarks on government shareholding, undermining the independence of the judiciary, violations of the National Cohesion and Integration Act, committing offences under the same law, and gross misconduct arising from his public attacks on the National Intelligence Service (NIS).
