‘The world is watching’: Bid to oust Kenya deputy president goes to Senate

A bid by Kenyan lawmakers to oust Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua moved swiftly to the Senate on Wednesday after he was impeached by the lower house of parliament in an unprecedented political drama that has gripped the nation.

The National Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday night to impeach Gachagua in a historic move that follows an acrimonious falling out with his boss President William Ruto.

“End of the road?” thundered the front-page headline of The Star newspaper on Wednesday, while The People Daily newspaper declared “The fall of a tribal chief.”

The vote has added to political uncertainty in the East African powerhouse, which was rocked earlier this year by sometimes deadly anti-government protests amid a cost-of-living crisis.

The impeachment motion accused the 59-year-old Gachagua of corruption, insubordination, undermining the government and practising ethnically divisive politics, among a host of other charges that he has all vociferously denied.

It was approved by 282 MPs in the 349-member National Assembly, more than the two-thirds required, after a sometimes heated 12-hour session.

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Fast-tracking the next stage of the process, the upper house was in session on Wednesday to hear the charges against Gachagua.

If the Senate also approves the motion, Gachagua would become the first deputy president to be removed from office in this way since impeachment was introduced in Kenya’s revised 2010 constitution.

The Senate has 10 days to wrap up the proceedings and make a decision, which requires the support of at least two-thirds of senators.

‘The world is watching’ – senate speaker on Gachagua vote

Senate speaker Amason Jeffah Kingi said the house will debate the motion on Wednesday and Thursday next week, abandoning a process that would have set up an 11-member committee to investigate the charges.

“The process we are about to undertake is extremely heavy. The country and the world is watching,” he said, promising “justice”.

At a press conference on Monday, Gachagua had branded the accusations against him as “outrageous” and “sheer propaganda”, vowing he would not resign.

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“It is well,” the scandal-tainted politician said in a short statement after the vote, alongside Bible verses calling for thanksgiving.

Gachagua, a powerful businessman from Kenya’s biggest and most powerful tribe, the Kikuyu, weathered previous corruption scandals to become deputy leader as Ruto’s running mate in a closely fought election in August 2022.

He brought in votes from the Kikuyu in the key Mount Kenya region that helped Ruto secure victory.

But in recent weeks, he has complained of being sidelined by the president and had been accused of supporting youth-led anti-government protests that broke out in June over unpopular tax hikes.

‘Presidency has failed’

The unrest exposed divisions in the top echelons of power, and Gachagua admitted that the impeachment motion could not have gone ahead without Ruto’s blessing.

The feud echoes the public falling-out between then-president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy Ruto before the 2022 election.

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No formal charges have been lodged by prosecutors and no judicial inquiry has been opened against Gachagua.

But lawmakers gave 11 grounds for impeachment, including accusations that he amassed assets worth 5.2 billion shillings ($40 million) since the last election, despite an annual salary of just $93,000.

Gachagua says his wealth has come entirely through legitimate business deals and an inheritance from his late brother.

The impeachment has divided Kenyans with many calling for both Ruto and Gachagua to leave office over unmet election promises and economic hardships.

“We are very much angry (at) this government,” 32-year-old artist Kelvin Muriuki told AFP.

Law student Caleb Ikenye agreed: “The whole presidency has failed the country.”

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Gachagua will continue to serve in his role until a decision by the Senate on his removal.

In 1989, then-vice president Josephat Karanja resigned from office when faced with a similar push for dismissal in parliament.

– By: © Agence France-Presse