Kenyan Lawmakers Agree to Impeach Deputy President
Kenyan lawmakers voted to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, raising the risk of renewed political instability as the economy struggles to recover from deadly anti-government protests earlier this year.
Members of the National Assembly voted to remove Gachagua from office for violating the constitution, with those in favor outnumbering dissenters by 281 to 44, with one abstention, National Assembly speaker Moses Wetang’ula said in proceedings broadcast on state television on Tuesday. The motion will be forwarded to the Senate for further hearings before a vote is taken on a final decision.
“More than two thirds of the members of the National Assembly have voted in support of the motion,” Wetang’ula said. “I’ll proceed to discharge the singular duty placed on me to notify the Speaker of the Senate of the resolution of the National Assembly.”
Gachagua has been increasingly marginalized since President William Ruto allies accused him of backing the demonstrations that erupted in June over plans to raise more than $2 billion in new taxes. The protests led to the deaths of more than 60 people and forced Ruto to scrap the revenue plan and find alternative ways to plug the nation’s budget shortfall and unlock further International Monetary Fund disbursements.
Gachagua was accused of pilfering public funds and making inflammatory pronouncements to stir ethnic hatred, according to a petition filed to parliament by a member of the ruling coalition. He has called the process a witch-hunt and denied any wrongdoing.
The bid to remove Gachagua has unnerved investors in Kenya’s dollar bonds, with the yields on loans maturing in 2031 rising about 30 basis points since the motion to impeach him was filed on Oct. 2. The IMF categorizes Kenya at high-risk of debt distress.
The ouster of the deputy president risks fracturing Ruto’s ruling coalition if lawmakers allied to Gachagua form a breakaway group and begin opposing government plans. Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s coalition is also split on the matter, with some members of his Orange Democratic Movement voicing support for the impeachment, while his long-time ally Kalonzo Musyoka has opposed the ouster.
“The infighting within the ruling party will raise question marks on the government’s focus on reform efforts going forward,” BancTrust & Co. investment bank said in a research note.
Ruto fired his entire cabinet in the wake of the anti-government demonstrations, and then appointed five members of the opposition as ministers. Ruto beat Odinga in the 2022 presidential election with the support of Gachagua — a member of the Kikuyu ethnic group that constitutes Kenya’s most powerful voting bloc.
Growth in the East Africa nation slowed to 4.6% in the quarter through June, compared with 5% in the previous three months.
The frontrunner to succeed Gachagua is Interior Secretary Kithure Kindiki, according to a poll published by Nairobi-based TIFA Research on Oct. 7.
