President William Ruto on Friday nominated Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to take over from Rigathi Gachagua as Deputy President.
The announcement was communicated by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula during a special sitting on Friday.
“According to the provision of Standing Order 52 (1), I wish to report to the house that today morning, I have received a message from the President Regarding the nomination of Prof. Kithure Kindiki, to fill the vacancy which has occurred in the Office of the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, following the impeachment of the previous office holder,” said Wetang’ula.
Following the announcement, MPs discussed the nomination briefly and approved Kindiki to become the country’s second in command.
Notably, no MP objected to the nomination of Kindiki and no MP also abstained from the voting exercise.
So far Wetang’ula has gazetted Proffessor Kindiki to take up the Deputy President position after the House approved his nomination.
“It is notified that, pursuant to Article 149 (1) as read together with Article 122 of the Constitution of Kenya, the National Assembly has, at its sitting held on Friday, 18th October 2024 in the National Assembly Chamber at the main Parliament Building, voted in favor of the nomination of Kithure Kindiki (Prof) to fill the vacancy in the Office of the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya,” read the notice by the National Assembly Speaker.
President William Ruto will now officially appoint Kindiki as Deputy President, after which he will take the oath of office.
Gachagua was impeached on Thursday 17 October after an intense Senate session in which he failed to take the stand.
The Senate voted on each of the eleven charges brought against Gachagua and achieved the 2/3 majority, which is 45 senators, on five of the eleven charges.
Gachagua is the first deputy president in Kenya to be removed from office under the revised constitution since 2010, and is now barred from holding public office in the future.
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