Kenyan senators have voted to remove Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office despite his failure to testify at his impeachment trial after his lawyer said he had been taken to hospital.
In one of the most dramatic days in Kenya’s recent political history, Gachagua had been due to appear in the Senate to defend himself, a day after he had pleaded not guilty to 11 charges.
However, Gachagua, popularly known as Riggy G, did not show up and his lawyer requested a postponement saying his client was suffering from chest pains and was being treated by doctors at The Karen Hospital.
Senators chose to continue the trial without him, prompting the defence team to leave the chamber.
The senators’ refusal to delay proceedings until Saturday – as long as would have been legally allowed – shows their determination to oust Gachagua, several months after he fell out with President William Ruto.
Last week, an overwhelming majority of MPs in the National Assembly – the lower house of parliament – voted to impeach him, setting the stage for his two-day trial in the Senate.
Gachagua, a wealthy businessman from the vote-rich central Mount Kenya region who was present in the house on Thursday morning before falling ill, has described the impeachment as a “political lynching”.
On Friday morning, President Ruto nominated Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki to become his deputy.
The 52-year-old is a strong ally of the president and served as his lawyer during his trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) that was eventually dismissed because of a lack of evidence.
