Kenya: Kithure Kindiki nominated as new deputy president

Should the nomination pass the parliament’s vote, Kindiki will replace impeached Rigathi Gachagua. Currently Kenya’s interior minister, Kindiki came under fire due to police’s treatment of the protests in the country.

Kenya President William Ruto has nominated Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki as his new deputy, one day after the Senate voted to impeach Ruto's previous deputy, Rigathi Gachagua.

Speaker Moses Wetang'ula confirmed the nomination in parliament on Friday.

Parliament will have to approve Kindiki's appointment before he is sworn in.

However, a Kenyan court issued an order pausing the appointment of Kindiki as the new deputy president and a decision by the Senate upholding the impeachment charges against his predecessor until October 24.

Kindiki, a close ally of Ruto, has held the country's interior ministry throughout Ruto's two years as President, but came under criticism over alleged police brutality during the anti-government protests that took place in Kenya earlier this year.

He was previously among the top contenders to become Ruto's running mate ahead of the 2022 elections.

Ruto has not given any public statement on the impeachment.

Gachagua denies charges

The impeachment of Ruto's 2022 election running mate Gachagua had transfixed the East African country, generally regarded as a stable democracy in a turbulent region.

Gachagua, an influential businessman from Kenya's biggest tribe, the Kikuyu, denies the charges against him, which include threatening judges and practicing ethnically divisive politics.

In recent months, Gachagua has spoken about being sidelined, while at the same time, local media reported of him falling out with President Ruto. He was also accused of supporting the anti-government protest that broke out in June.

He is the first deputy president to be impeached since the process was introduced in Kenya's revised 2010 constitution.

ftm/wd (AP, Reuters)