Azimio La Umoja One Kenya party leader Raila Odinga on Friday, July 7, 2023, launched a signature collection drive aimed at proving Kenyan’s dissatisfaction with the administration of President William Ruto.
Addressing a rally in Kamkunji during SabaSaba day, Odinga said the move was compelled by the government’s failure to address the opposition’s grievances including punitive taxes, high cost of living, electoral fraud and biased recruitment of electoral commissioners.
The signature collection drive has been met with mixed reactions. Some Kenyans support the drive, while others believe that it is a waste of time. The drive has also been criticized by some legal experts, who say that it is unlikely to succeed.
The Kenya Kwanza team led by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua criticized the move urging Kenyans to ignore it because there is no constitutional provision for the collection of signatures.
Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition on Monday called upon Kenyans to come up in large numbers and support his signature-collection drive.
“We are going to collect 15 million signatures to say that we lack faith in President William Ruto’s government. This will show that I’m not alone but Kenyans are behind me. Everyone should sign,” Odinga said.
However, according to the Constitution, a president can only be ousted by way of the Parliament – the following are grounds for removal of a Head of State from office;
Through impeachment where a member of the National Assembly, supported by at least a third of all the members, may move a motion for the impeachment of the President–on the ground of a gross violation of a provision of this Constitution or of any other law; where there are serious reasons for believing that the President has committed a crime under national or international law; or for gross misconduct.
The second reason for ousting the president can be on grounds of either mental or physical incapacity hindering him from performing his duties.