Kenyan court approves new deputy president to take office

Despite an ongoing legal battle over the previous deputy president’s impeachment, a Kenyan high court has approved the appointment of a new deputy president.

Nairobi’s three-judge High Court overturned a previous court’s decision to postpone Kithure Kindiki’s swearing-in, claiming that the suspension left a political void.

Ethnic tensions and support for anti-government demonstrations increased when former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was impeached and removed from office on October 17th by a vote of more than two-thirds of lawmakers on corruption accusations.

President William Ruto nominated Kindiki, the current interior minister, for the deputy role the next day.

Gachagua’s impeachment had highlighted divisions within the ruling United Democratic Alliance, or UDA, and friction between Ruto and Gachagua, both UDA members.

The former deputy president had been accused of insubordination when he opposed the government’s policy of forced evictions during heavy rains that caused flooding and deaths.

Gachagua is contesting the impeachment at the Nairobi High Court, claiming that the hearings were unfair and the charges were unfounded.

Gachagua has stated that he thinks Ruto supported the impeachment.

Ruto has been widely criticized for his attempts to raise taxes in order to pay off foreign creditors, despite having claimed to represent Kenya’s poorest inhabitants when he took government.

However, the public’s resistance forced him to reorganize his Cabinet and abandon some of his plans.