President William Ruto has nominated Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki as Deputy President to replace the impeached Rigathi Gachagua.
The 52-year-old Kindiki is a strong ally of the president and served as his lawyer during Ruto’s trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was eventually dismissed due to a lack of evidence.
The announcement was made by the Speaker of the National Assembly, who was presiding over a special session to approve the new nominee.
The Kenyan constitution gives the president 14 days to nominate a replacement and an additional 60 days for a vote by lawmakers. However, it appears they intend to expedite both steps.
This development comes as Kenyan senators voted to remove Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office, despite his failure to testify at his impeachment trial after his lawyer stated he was sick and in the hospital.
In one of the most dramatic days in Kenya’s recent political history, Gachagua was supposed to appear in the Senate after lunch to defend himself, a day after pleading not guilty to 11 charges.
Gachagua did not show up, and his lawyer requested a postponement, stating that his client was suffering from chest pains and receiving treatment from doctors at The Karen Hospital.
Senators continued the trial without him, prompting the defense team to leave the chamber.
On Thursday evening, the required two-thirds of the 67 senators voted to impeach him on charges that included corruption, inciting ethnic divisions, and undermining the government.
As the trial began on Wednesday, the deputy president pleaded not guilty to each of the 11 charges read out in the house.
The majority of lawmakers in the National Assembly voted last week to approve his impeachment, setting the stage for the Senate trial.
This fallout occurred just two years after he and President William Ruto were elected on a joint ticket.
The situation worsened in June when Gachagua, in an act seen as undermining the president, blamed the head of the intelligence agency for not properly briefing Ruto and the government about the scale of mass protests against unpopular tax hikes.