The News
NAIROBI — Kenya’s President William Ruto has nominated a new deputy president following the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua, capping a turbulent week for his government.
Parliament on Friday approved the nomination of Kithure Kindiki, the country’s interior cabinet secretary, to take over from Gachagua who late on Thursday became the first Kenyan deputy president to be impeached.
But the High Court temporarily blocked Kindiki’s appointment until it has heard a case next week challenging the impeachment of Gachagua.
Gachagua had been accused of irregularly accumulating wealth and fanning ethnic division. He denied any wrongdoing and, in the months leading up to the introduction of the impeachment motion, openly clashed with Ruto’s allies, whom he said sought to undermine him.
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Kindiki, 52, is a lawyer who represented Ruto when the latter was deputy president and faced charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in relation to the post-election violence of 2007/08 in Kenya.
He previously served as a senator and was appointed to the powerful interior ministry portfolio by Ruto after he became president in 2022.
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Gachagua, 59, failed to appear before the Senate on Thursday to defend himself at the impeachment hearing because his doctors said he had been admitted with intense chest pains. They said he would be put under observation for 48 to 72 hours. His lawyers had earlier sought to poke holes into the impeachment motion, insisting that it was based on falsehoods.
Senators, however, voted to impeach Gachagua who was elected on the same ticket as Ruto in 2022, having previously served a single term as an MP.
Gachagua has fought against his impeachment with a litany of cases filed in recent days that may yet see Kindiki’s ascension disrupted.
His case against his impeachment will be heard by the High Court in Nairobi on Oct. 24 by a bench to be appointed by the country’s chief justice.