KENYA’s parliament has begun the final step to remove Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office just two years after he was elected on a joint ticket with the president.
An overwhelming majority voted in the National Assembly last week to approve his impeachment, setting the stage for the two-day trial in the Senate that takes the final decision.
The deputy president faces 11 charges including corruption, inciting ethnic divisions and undermining government – all of which he denies.
The row follows his recent fallout with President William Ruto, who has remained silent about the matter.
Gachagua’s trial is being conducted before the full house of the Senate after it abandoned a process to set up an 11-member committee to investigate the charges.
The deputy president stood before the chamber as the charges were read out to him at the start of the trial – pleading not guilty to each one.
Analysts expect the deputy president’s impeachment to be upheld as the ruling party senators are likely to be backed by those from the main opposition as happened when the the lower house voted on the case.
At least two-thirds of the 67 Senate members must approve the motion for Gachagua to be removed from office.
Should that happen and his impeachment stands, he would be barred from ever holding public office.
Wednesday’s schedule involves evidence by the National Assembly against Gachagua, including any witnesses, being introduced and examined for three hours followed by another two hours of cross-examination.
Kenyan media reported that videos of the deputy president comparing Kenya to a shareholding company were played at the hearing.
Gachagua sparked a backlash last year for this utterance, in which he said those that voted for the current administration were more deserving of government appointments and contracts.
As Wednesday’s hearing took place, residents in Gachagua’s home region, Mount Kenya, protested against the impeachment.
More than 1,000 people took to the streets of Kagio town and blocked a highway, local media reported.
On Thursday, the trial will resume to deal with the evidence and witnesses from Gachagua’s side until late afternoon.
At the conclusion of the process in the evening, senators will debate the motion for about two hours and then take a vote – scheduled to happen on Thursday night.
The Senate can decide to extend the process to Friday, the last day it can legally be heard.
He is expected to challenge the impeachment in the courts if it passes.