KENYA’S President, William Ruto, on Friday, October 18, nominated Interior Minister, Kithure Kindiki, as his new deputy, hours after the Senate voted to impeach former vice president, Rigathi Gachagua.
Ruto’s nomination of a close ally, who still needs to be approved by parliament, comes after a period of political turmoil, mass protests and the first removal of a Kenyan deputy president by impeachment.
According to Reuters, Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said in the National Assembly: “I have received a message from … the President, regarding the nomination of Professor Kithure Kindiki to fill the vacancy, which has occurred in the office.”
Gachagua was impeached on five out of 11 charges, including gross violation of the constitution and stirring ethnic hatred, accusations that he denied and dismissed as politically -motivated.
He backed Ruto in his 2022 election win and helped secure a large block of votes from the populous central Kenya region. But in recent months, Gachagua has spoken of being sidelined, amid widespread reports in local media signalling a rift with Ruto as political alliances shifted.
Kindiki was a top contender to be Ruto’s running mate during the 2022 election and was appointed Interior minister shortly after the President took office in September that year.
The Interior ministry includes oversight of the Police, which rights groups have accused of using excessive force during protests earlier this year that called for the withdrawal of a now-shelved finance law and reforms to tackle corruption.
Appearing before parliament in September, Kindiki said Police acted within the law and that the government did not engage in extra-judicial killings or abductions.
Recall that the National Assembly voted last week to impeach Gachagua, with 54 out of 67 senators voting to dismiss him on the first count of “gross violation of the constitution,” which was more than the two-thirds majority required under the law, making him the first Kenyan president or deputy president forced from office by impeachment, with Senate Speaker, Amason Kingi, saying: “Accordingly, His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua… ceases to hold office.”
The process, however, is unlikely to stop there. Gachagua has filed several petitions challenging the push to oust him, and the chief justice has appointed a panel of three Judges to examine them.
Gachagua, who has denied the allegations, had been due to defend himself against the charges in the Senate on Thursday afternoon ahead of the vote.
When he failed to show up, his lawyer, Paul Muite, said the deputy president had been hospitalised with intense chest pains, urging the Senate to pause proceedings for a couple of days.
But the senate declined to do so, prompting Gachagua’s legal team to leave the chambers in protest.
Dan Gikonyo, a doctor treating Gachagua, told reporters the deputy president was admitted to a Nairobi hospital with heart trouble on Thursday afternoon, but was stable and would likely have to remain in hospital for 24 to 72 hours.
Some senators questioned the decision to proceed with the vote, despite Gachagua’s absence. “We are to try a man in hospital because the only crime that Rigathi Gachagua has committed is a political crime, so he has to be removed out of the way, whatever it will take,” said Senator John Methu.
But Senator Moses Otieno Kajwang defended the move to impeach Gachagua, saying: “We must drain the swamp.”
Ruto, who has fallen out with Gachagua in recent months, has not commented on the proceedings, but could face a public backlash following the impeachment, political analysts said.
Many Kenyans view the impeachment process as politically-motivated and a distraction from the aftermath of the deadly anti-tax protests in June and July that exposed deep discontent with government policies and alleged corruption.
The hearings, which have involved in-depth scrutiny of Gachagua’s finances, could boomerang back at Ruto, said Karuti Kanyinga, a professor at the University of Nairobi’s Institute for Development Studies.
“We are going to hear people demanding that the same thing that has been done on Gachagua be done to the president,” Kanyinga said.
