Kenya's deputy president pleads not guilty in impeachment process
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[October 16, 2024]
By EVELYNE MUSAMBI
NAIROBI,
Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s deputy president, who faces impeachment, pleaded
not guilty Wednesday to all allegations including corruption, inciting
ethnic divisions and support for anti-government protests that saw
demonstrators storm the country's parliament. |
Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua addresses the media, in
Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku) |
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has called the
allegations politically motivated, could be the first sitting
deputy president impeached in Kenya.
The case highlights the friction between him and President
William Ruto — something that Ruto once vowed to avoid after his
past troubled relationship as deputy to Kenya's previous
president, Uhuru Kenyatta.
Gachagua has said he believes the impeachment process has Ruto's
blessing, and has asked legislators to make their decision
“without intimidation and coercion.”
The tensions risk introducing more uncertainty for investors and
others in East Africa’s commercial hub.
Court rulings this week allowed the parliament and senate to
proceed with the impeachment debate, despite concerns over
irregularities raised by the deputy president’s lawyers.
The impeachment motion was approved in parliament last week and
forwarded to the senate. Gachagua’s legal team will have
Wednesday and Thursday to cross-examine witnesses, and the
senate will vote Thursday evening.
The senate requires a two-thirds majority to approve the
impeachment motion.
Under the Kenyan Constitution, the removal from office is
automatic if approved by both chambers, though Gachagua can
challenge the action in court — something he has said he would
do.
Kenya's president has yet to publicly comment on the impeachment
process. Early in his presidency, he said he wouldn’t publicly
humiliate his deputy.
Ruto, who came to office claiming to represent Kenya's poorest
citizens, has faced widespread criticism for his efforts to
raise taxes in an effort to find ways to pay off foreign
creditors. But the public opposition led him to shake up his
cabinet and back off certain proposals.
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