NAIROBI, Oct 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Kenya’s High Court suspended a parliamentary resolution to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and halted the process of replacing him on Friday, less than an hour after the National Assembly approved President William Ruto’s choice of a successor.
The court ruling delays until at least Oct 24 the swearing-in of Kithure Kindiki, who Ruto had nominated to take over as his deputy. The Senate impeached Gachagua on Thursday night, after he was accused of inciting ethnic hatred and undermining the judiciary. He denied any wrongdoing.
A bench of judges appointed by the chief justice will decide whether the decision to remove Gachagua was lawful, High Court Judge Chacha Mwita said.
The ruling leaves Ruto’s administration in limbo at a time when it’s trying to reassert control after public protests earlier this year against planned tax increases sparked clashes that left at least 60 people dead. It will also detract from efforts to bring runaway state debt under control and plug a $2.7 billion hole in the budget that arose after the government agreed to backtrack on some of its revenue-collection plans.
The appointment of Kindiki, a law professor who currently serves as the interior secretary, would have consolidated Ruto’s hold on power — his nomination was unanimously backed by 236 lawmakers who attended a special sitting in the capital, Nairobi, on Friday.
Gachagua helped Ruto draw votes from his fellow Kikuyu, the nation’s largest ethnic group, when they competed in elections in 2022 on a joint ticket. But the two fell out after Ruto fired his cabinet in the wake of the protests and then brought several opposition members into his administration.
The deputy president serves as Ruto’s principal assistant and chairs a forum that brings together the nation’s 47 counties and the national government.
Kindiki is a close ally of Ruto. He served as one of the president’s lawyers when he faced war-crimes charges at the International Criminal Court stemming from ethnic violence in Kenya in 2008 that left at least 1,110 people dead. The case was eventually dropped due to a lack of evidence. — NNN-AGENCIES
