Lawmakers are threatening to oust the deputy president after accusing him of undermining the government.
Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has been threatened with impeachment proceedings by lawmakers amid intense speculation that he has had a major fallout with President William Ruto.
Ruto chose Gachagua as his running-mate in the 2022 election, when he defeated former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in a bitterly contested election.But with members of Odinga's party joining the government after the youth-led protests that forced Ruto to backdown from increasing taxes, the political dynamics have changed - and the deputy president looks increasingly isolated.
“I was surprised that I was number 242 to sign it and there was still a queue ,” said legislator Didmus Barasa.Gachagua has, however, struck a defiant tone, saying he has the backing of voters in his native central Kenya region.For the motion to pass, it would require the support at least two-thirds of members of the National Assembly and Senate, excluding its nominated members.
Ruto has in the past vowed not to subject Gachagua to “political persecution”, similar to what he says he experienced when he was deputy to his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta.The deputy president has been conspicuously absent from seeing off his boss at the airport when he travels abroad, and receiving him when he returns.
Dozens of legislators have rallied behind Kindiki as the region’s preferred “mouthpiece", intensifying speculation that they are pushing for him to succeed Gachagua.Kenya's security forces were accused of using excessive force to quell protests against higher taxes earlier this year In parliament last week, Kindiki - under whose ministry the DCI falls - pledged to remain neutral, but made it clear that “high-level individuals” will be prosecuted.
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