Kenya’s Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, has temporarily evaded impeachment after the Nairobi High Court intervened to halt the Senate’s decision to remove him from office.
The court’s order came on Friday, a day after Kenyan senators voted to impeach Gachagua, marking him as the first deputy president to face removal since the introduction of the 2010 constitution.
Gachagua, 59, faced 11 charges, including corruption, insubordination, and money laundering, which he dismissed as politically motivated.
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He was found guilty of five charges, including promoting ethnically divisive politics and threatening judges, but was cleared of six others, including corruption.
The impeachment process, however, was fraught with controversy.
Gachagua was hospitalized with severe chest pains, leading his lawyer, Paul Muite, to request the Senate to pause the proceedings due to his health condition.
“The sad reality is that the deputy president of the republic of Kenya has been taken sick, very sick,” Muite stated.
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Despite the request, senators continued with the hearing, prompting Gachagua’s legal team to withdraw in protest.
A motion by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi to delay the proceedings until Saturday was rejected, with Kingi declaring, “The nays have it.”
In a twist, the Nairobi High Court, led by Judge Chacha Mwita, issued a conservatory order suspending the Senate’s decision pending a further hearing.
Gachagua had approached the court to halt the impeachment process, citing “monumental constitutional issues.”
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Judge Mwita also temporarily blocked the appointment of Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki, who had been approved by the National Assembly on Friday morning to replace Gachagua as deputy president.
The court ruled that these decisions would remain on hold until October 24, when the matter will be revisited by a bench appointed by the chief justice.
Judge Mwita stated, “Upon considering the pleadings, supporting affidavit, and attachments, I am satisfied that the petition and application raise monumental constitutional issues. A conservatory order is hereby issued, staying the implementation of the resolution by the Senate upholding the impeachment charges against the petitioner until further deliberation.”
