Rigathi Gachagua, the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, recently faced an impeachment hearing in the Senate following a motion passed by the National Assembly seeking his removal from office. The motion, put forth on Tuesday, accuses Gachagua of breaching several provisions of the Kenyan Constitution, the Penal Code, and other legislative Acts, citing allegations of gross misconduct. Specifically, the accusations include discriminative utterances in public, contradicting policy positions of the government, and interference with Nairobi City County’s governance.
During the session, the National Assembly highlighted 11 specific grounds for the impeachment, culminating in a vote where 282 members supported the motion against 44 dissenting votes (Jurist). Senate Speaker Amason Jeffah Kingi addressed the Senate, underscoring the seriousness of the impeachment process. For the impeachment to proceed, at least two-thirds of the Senate, equivalent to 45 of its 67 members, must agree to the charges. This proceeding is noteworthy as it marks the first impeachment attempt against a sitting Kenyan deputy president.
A suggestion to form an 11-member Special Committee to handle the impeachment trial was withdrawn due to lack of support, thereby relegating the task to the entire Senate body. Consequently, Gachagua is slated to face a full Senate trial set for October 16, 2024. Prior to this, Gachagua held the role of an administrative officer and later served as a member of Parliament for the Mathira Constituency.