By Abiola Olawale
The Kenyan Senate, on Thursday, jointly resolved to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
This development represents the first time a deputy president has been removed from office since the introduction of the constitutional reforms in 2010 in Kenya.
A total of 281 MPs voted in favour of the ouster motion against 44. One MP abstained from voting.
During a tense session on Thursday, the Senate found Gachagua guilty on five out of the 11 charges levelled against him.
The charges include involvement in corruption, money laundering, insubordination, ethnic divisiveness, and undermining the government of the Republic of Kenya.
Going by the rule, the Senate needed to convict the Vice President just on only one charge to secure his removal.
The 59-year-old deputy president’s impeachment follows a similar vote by the National Assembly last week, where the motion to remove him from office was overwhelmingly passed.
Gachagua, who has consistently denied the accusations, was unable to testify in his defence after being hospitalized with severe chest pains. Despite his absence, the Senate proceeded with the vote.
The impeachment process unfolded amidst a backdrop of intense political scrutiny and public discourse in Kenya.
It would be recalled that in June, amid the deadly protest that broke out in Kenya, Gachagua blamed the head of the intelligence agency for not properly briefing President William Ruto and the government over the magnitude of mass protests against unpopular tax hikes.
Gachagua had attributed the violence and unrest to alleged intelligence shortcomings from the head of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Noordin Haji.
It would be recalled that Kenya suffered a deadly crisis after the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition failed to heed calls to reject a controversial 2024 Finance Bill.
Several youths took to the streets to protest a clause inserted in the Finance Bill which seeks to raise revenues through taxes.
