Kenya is in a political storm as lawmakers have filed a petition to impeach Vice President Rigathi Gachagua. The charges against him are serious: corruption, bullying public officers, and causing divisions among ethnic groups.
The motion to impeach Gachagua was introduced in the National Assembly on Tuesday by Member of Parliament Mwengi Mutuse. He revealed that 291 out of 349 lawmakers have signed the petition, which is more than enough to hold a vote on Gachagua’s removal from office.
Parliamentary Speaker Moses Wetang’ula called this a “special motion,” noting that it marks an “unprecedented constitutional moment” in Kenya’s history. The lower house will hold a public session about the impeachment on Friday, and Gachagua is expected to respond to the charges on October 8.
Kenya’s government has been facing challenges since June due to protests over rising living costs and a controversial finance bill that aimed to raise $2.7 billion in taxes. The situation has created tension between President William Ruto and his deputy, Gachagua. Ruto’s allies have accused Gachagua of encouraging anti-government protests, claiming he is trying to incite unrest because he feels sidelined by Ruto. This tension increased when Ruto appointed members of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s party to his “national unity government” after the protests.
Gachagua, who hails from the influential Mount Kenya region, played a significant role in helping Ruto win the presidential election in 2022. He is 59 years old and proudly describes himself as a “truthful man.” However, his remarks about the government being run like a business and suggesting that those who voted for Ruto deserve priority for public sector jobs and projects have upset many within Ruto’s coalition.
During the introduction of the impeachment motion, Mwengi stated that Gachagua has accumulated an astonishing property portfolio, supposedly through corrupt practices and money laundering. The petition lists 11 reasons for his impeachment, including claims that Gachagua illegally gained 5.2 billion shillings (about $40 million) in just two years, while earning an annual salary of $93,000.
If the impeachment motion passes, Gachagua would become the first deputy president in Kenya to be impeached under the revised 2010 constitution. The last deputy president to leave office under similar circumstances was Josephat Karanja, who resigned in 1989 after facing accusations of plotting to undermine the presidency.
Political experts, like Macharia Munene from the United States International University in Nairobi, suggest that the impeachment petition could be a strategy by the government to distract the public from its problems. Munene argued that creating a crisis around Gachagua might help the government divert attention from its own challenges.
As Kenya watches closely, the political drama surrounding Gachagua’s impeachment continues to unfold, raising questions about the future of the country’s leadership.
