Kenyan vice president pleads not guilty in impeachment proceedings

NAIROBI, Kenya– Kenya’s vice president, who faces impeachment proceedings, pleaded not guilty Wednesday at a Senate hearing to all allegations, including corruption, inciting ethnic divisions and supporting anti-government protests that saw protesters storm the country’s parliament.

Vice President Rigathi Gachagua, who has called the allegations politically motivated, could be the first sitting vice president to be impeached in Kenya.

The affair highlights friction between him and President William Ruto – something Ruto has vowed to avoid after his difficult past relationship as deputy to Kenya’s previous president, Uhuru Kenyatta.

Gachagua said he believed the impeachment process had Ruto’s blessing and asked lawmakers to make their decision “without intimidation or coercion”.

The tensions are likely to introduce more uncertainty for investors and others in the East African trading hub.

Court rulings this week allowed the House and Senate to continue the impeachment debate, despite concerns about irregularities raised by the vice president’s lawyers.

The impeachment motion was approved in Parliament last week and sent to the Senate. Gachagua’s legal team will have Wednesday and Thursday to cross-examine witnesses, and the Senate will vote Thursday evening.

The Senate needs a two-thirds majority to approve the impeachment motion.

Under the Kenyan Constitution, impeachment is automatic if approved by both houses, although Gachagua can challenge this action in court – which he has promised to do.

Kenya’s president has yet to publicly comment on the impeachment process. Early in his presidency, he said he would not publicly humiliate his deputy.

Ruto, who took office claiming to represent Kenya’s poorest citizens, has been widely criticized for his efforts to raise taxes to find ways to repay foreign creditors. But popular opposition led him to reshuffle his cabinet and reverse certain proposals.