Kenya’s President William Ruto nominated interior minister Kithure Kindiki as his new deputy president a day after the Senate voted to impeach Ruto’s previous deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.

“I have received a message from … the president, regarding the nomination of Prof. Kithure Kindiki to fill the vacancy which has occurred in the office,” Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said in parliament on Friday.

In an unprecedented move that risks pushing the country towards a political crisis, Mr Gachagua was removed from office by impeachment on Thursday of five out of 11 charges levelled against him.

The National Assembly voted last week to impeach Mr Gachagua, who helped President William Ruto win an election two years ago but has been assailed by the president’s allies over alleged disloyalty and a series of provocative public comments.

Fifty-four out of 67 senators voted to dismiss Mr Gachagua on the first count of “gross violation of the constitution,” more than the two-thirds majority required under the law.

That makes him the first Kenyan president or deputy president forced out of office by impeachment.

“Accordingly, His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua… ceases to hold office,” said Senate Speaker Amason Kingi.

The process, however, is unlikely to stop there as Mr 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.

Mr 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 Mr Gachagua, told reporters the deputy president was admitted to a Nairobi hospital with heart trouble on Thursday afternoon but was now stable and would likely have to remain in hospital for 24 to 72 hours.

Some senators questioned the decision to proceed with the vote in Mr 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 Mr Gachagua, saying, “We must drain the swamp.”

The new deputy president, Mr Kindiki, a close ally of Mr Ruto, has held the interior ministry post.

He previously served as senator for Tharaka Nithi County and was a top contender to be Mr Ruto’s running mate during the 2022 election.

Parliament will later have to vote to approve Mr Kindiki’s appointment before he is sworn in. 

(Reuters/NAN)