Kithure Kindiki was sworn in as Kenya’s new Deputy President on Friday after a court lifted orders that had temporarily blocked his inauguration.
This decision followed weeks of legal challenges from his predecessor, Rigathi Gachagua, who was impeached by parliament last month.
Gachagua was removed from office in October on charges of gross constitutional violations and inciting ethnic hatred—accusations he has categorically rejected, labelling them as politically motivated.
Kenya’s High Court had previously placed Kindiki’s inauguration on hold while Gachagua and his supporters filed over 30 legal challenges to prevent his dismissal and replacement. However, on Thursday, judges lifted the stay order, stating that the deputy president’s position must not remain vacant as per constitutional requirements.
Gachagua’s legal struggles extended the political turmoil in Kenya, the largest economy in East Africa, which began with widespread protests against unpopular tax increases in June. In response, President William Ruto invited opposition members to join his cabinet in what he termed a unity government, an effort to ease tensions following demonstrations that had seen protesters storm parliament.
This political realignment sidelined Gachagua, who played a key role in securing votes from the influential Mount Kenya region during Ruto’s election campaign.
The relationship between the two has since soured, and while Ruto has remained silent on the impeachment proceedings, he has called for national unity and an end to “tribalism and exclusion.”
In his remarks following Kindiki’s swearing-in, Ruto urged his new deputy to “serve the people of Kenya equally, those who voted for us and those who did not vote for us. The government of Kenya equally belongs to all the people.”
Kindiki, who was a leading candidate to be Ruto’s running mate in the 2022 election, had been appointed as the interior minister shortly after Ruto assumed office in September of the same year.
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