Friday, October 18, 2024 – Rigathi Gachagua is no longer the Deputy
President of the Republic of Kenya.
This is after the Senate voted
to impeach him last night after only 766 days in office.
Senators impeached Gachagua for grossly violating the Constitution, undermining the independence of institutions such as the courts, and breaching the oath of office, among other things.
Gachagua’s impeachment followed
the Senate’s resolve to continue with the impeachment hearing despite a request
by the deputy president’s legal team for the adjournment of the hearing to
October 22.
Gachagua’s legal team had
requested Senate Speaker Amason Kingi to adjourn the session after the deputy
president reportedly fell ill during the proceedings.
Addressing the Senate plenary,
lead Counsel Paul Muite informed the lawmakers that the deputy president
suffered chest pains and was rushed to Karen Hospital for treatment.
“The sad reality is that the
Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya has been taken very sick and as I
address Mr Speaker and this House, he is in the hospital. That is the sad
reality,” Muite informed the plenary.
However, after the adjournment
plea was dismissed, Gachagua’s legal team walked out claiming they did not
have permission from their client to continue representing him in the
impeachment case.
Following the deputy president’s
legal team’s decision to walk out, Speaker Kingi permitted the representatives
from the National Assembly to deliver their closing statements in Gachagua’s
impeachment trial.
The Senate then adjourned for
thirty minutes after which a voting exercise was conducted and Gachagua was
sent packing.
The Kenyan DAILY POST