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Kenya’s Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was ousted from office on Thursday after being impeached in an unprecedented political saga that has gripped the nation.
In a historic move, the Senate voted to impeach Gachagua on five of 11 charges, after a similar motion was overwhelmingly approved by the lower house National Assembly last week.
The vote capped a day of high drama which saw the embattled 59-year-old known as “Riggy G” fail to testify in his defence after being admitted to hospital with severe chest pains.
He is the first deputy president to be sacked in this manner since impeachment was introduced in Kenya’s revised 2010 constitution.
His downfall is the culmination of a bitter falling out with President William Ruto, who he helped win a 2022 election by rallying support from the vote-rich Mount Kenya region.
“The Senate has resolved to remove from office, by impeachment, his excellency Rigathi Gachagua, the deputy president of the Republic of Kenya,” Senate speaker Amason Kingi said after the vote.
“Accordingly his excellency Rigathi Gachagua ceases to hold office.”