Nairobi, May 3 -- Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Mithika Linturi is a man under siege, with government-leaning MPs appearing to have abandoned him in his hour of need.

On Thursday, the impeachment motion against the embattled minister sailed through with relative ease, casting doubts on the Kenya Kwanza Alliance's much-vaunted "tyranny of numbers" in the National Assembly.

President Ruto's lieutenants faced a humiliating defeat on the floor of the House as their quest to raise preliminary objections on technical grounds to forestall the process fell flat on its face.

Mr Linturi's impeachment motion, sponsored by Bumula MP Jack Wamboka, was approved 149 to 36, which paves the way for the select committee to investigate the three allegati...