Historic Move: Kenyan Senate Impeaches Deputy President

The Kenyan Senate has impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. The decision was made on Thursday evening despite a request from Gachagua’s lawyer, Paul Muite, to delay the proceedings due to Gachagua’s hospitalization after falling seriously ill just hours before the vote.

Senate Speaker Amason Kingi had given Gachagua until 5 PM local time to attend the session, but the deputy president was ultimately absent from the hearing, leading to his impeachment. This marks a historic moment as Gachagua becomes the first deputy president to be impeached in Kenya.

At least 53 senators voted to uphold the first charge against him. Gachagua faced a total of 11 charges, but was impeached on five counts, which included allegations of improper shareholding, undermining judicial independence, violations of the National Cohesion and Integrity Act, and gross misconduct related to public attacks on the national security intelligence service.

In June, Gachagua had criticized the head of the intelligence agency for failing to adequately inform President William Ruto about the severity of public protests against unpopular tax hikes, an action perceived as undermining the president’s authority.

In total, 281 Members of Parliament voted in favor of the impeachment motion, while 44 opposed it, and one MP abstained from voting.