Rising heat over deputy president ouster bid double-edged sword for Ruto, allies

Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is widely expected to mount a political and legal fightback, in the event the impeachment succeeds

Barring late intervention by Kenyan President William Ruto, an impeachment motion against Deputy President (DP) Rigathi Gachagua could be introduced in Parliament in the coming days, after an MP said this week, he had secured enough signatures endorsing the ouster bid.

The MPs pushing for Mr Gachagua’s impeachment accuse him of, among others, promoting ethnically divisive politics, undermining the president and having had a role in the anti-government uprising between June and July that saw Parliament overrun.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has recommended the prosecution of four of the DP’s associates, including two Nairobi MPs, with charges related to the uprising, which initially broke out as street protests against tax hikes.

In a statement Thursday, Mr Gachagua dismissed the DCI investigation of his staff and allies as politically instigated, saying it was part of the plot to have him impeached.

To remove the DP from office, at least two-thirds of members in each of the two houses of Parliament -- National Assembly and Senate – will be required to vote for the impeachment motion.