Kenya court says deputy president’s impeachment proceedings constitutional

Last week, lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for abuse of office.

Kenya’s Senate is set to begin debating the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after a court ruled that proceedings against him are constitutional.

The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, last week voted to impeach Gachagua on 11 charges, which included corruption, undermining the government and stirring ethnic hatred.

Gachagua has denied all the charges.

The 59-year-old said the impeachment motion, backed by opposition lawmakers and allies of President William Ruto, was based on falsehoods that constituted a political lynching, according to court documents seen by the Reuters news agency.

Gachagua launched an appeal in the high court, but Judge Eric Ogola said on Wednesday that the process could go ahead, clearing the way for the Senate to hold hearings and vote on his dismissal.

“At this stage, the process is a lawful, constitutional process, and the Senate will conduct a trial where all the issues being raised before the court will be raised and determined at the moment,” the judge said in court.

A decision is expected on Thursday.

A two-thirds majority would be needed to dismiss Gachagua.

The Senate, the upper house of parliament, began meeting last week but started a debate on the motion on Wednesday, initially behind closed doors.

If removed, Gachagua would become the first deputy president to exit office in this way since impeachment was introduced in Kenya’s revised 2010 constitution.

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

He helped Ruto secure vital votes from the populous central Kenya region, but the two have since fallen out and political alliances have shifted.

In recent weeks, Gachagua has complained of being sidelined by the president and had been accused of supporting youth-led antigovernment protests that broke out in June, and that have exposed divisions in the top echelons of power.

Ruto fired most of his cabinet and appointed members of the opposition to what he called a unity government after the protests against tax increases in which more than 50 people were killed.

Ruto has not commented publicly on the impeachment, but Gachagua himself admitted the process could not proceed without the president’s approval.