Kenya’s Deputy President, Gachagua Pleads Not Guilty In Impeachment Process

By Lisbeth Micheni,Kenya

Kenya’s Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who is currently facing impeachment processes, on Wednesday during the senate hearing pleaded not guilty to all allegations levelled against him.

He is being accused of corruption, inciting ethnic divisions and support for anti-government protests that saw demonstrators storm the country’s parliament.

However, the deputy president called the allegations politically motivated.

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 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.

Gachagua may likely be the first sitting deputy president impeached in Kenya.

Meanwhile, 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.