Kenya made history on Tuesday after the members of the National Assembly voted to impeach the county's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. The fate of his leadership, therefore, lies in the hands of the Senators for a final vow to kick him out of power.
Throughout the entire process, the DP faced 11 charges presented in the form of an impeachment motion against him tabled by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse.
281 MPs voted to remove the DP from office by impeachment while only 44 had his back. With the development, Kenya joined other African countries whose leaders faced the wrath of the people.
In this article, we will look at African countries that have previously ousted their top leaders and the charges fronted against them.
Sudan's Omar al-Bashir
On April 11, 2019, Sudan's then-president Omar al-Bashir was ousted from power following months of protests. Bashir ruled Sudan for 30 years in what the Sudanese termed a severe and uncompromising ruling.
The former president seized power in a military coup in 1989 amid a long civil war between Sudan's north and south. During his time as president, Bashir was accused of war crimes. Subsequently, the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide among others. These were among the basis of the protests that led to his ouster.
Algeria's Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Algeria's former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to resign on April 2, 2019, after a month of unprecedented protests against his run for a fifth term. He was in power for 20 years.
The President was 82 years old at the time and wrote an official resignation letter just hours after the army chief demanded immediate action to remove him from office.
Bouteflika was never seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, but still announced a plan to seek a fifth term in elections scheduled for April 2019.
Hundreds of thousands of people, for several weeks, took to the streets of Algiers and other major cities calling for the president’s resignation.
South Africa's Jacob Zuma
Jacob Zuma was elected as South Africa's President in May 2009 and was forced to resign on February 14, 2018, after he received impeachment threats and pressure from the political party, the African National Congress (ANC).
According to an article by the BBC, Zuma faced numerous charges of corruption with the ANC party pressuring him to resign and pave the way for the then Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current President of South Africa.
In a televised resignation announcement, the president revealed that no one should lose their lives at his account.
"No life should be lost in my name and also, the ANC should never be divided in my name. I have therefore decided to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect," Zuma stated.
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe
In November 2017, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe resigned after 37 years. He succumbed to the pressure of a military takeover and the humiliation of impeachment, which forced him to step down as president.
His resignation came minutes into a joint session of the Zimbabwean Parliament in Harare convened to oust him from power.
The impeachment hearings were immediately suspended after the speaker read Mugabe's resignation letter and the whole National Assembly broke into applause.
Egypt's Mohamed Morsi
Despite being the first president democratically elected, Mohamed Morsi's term was short-lived as he was overthrown after a year in power. Morsi was overthrown by the military on July 3, 2013, after mass anti-government protests.
When he came to power in June 2012 after a narrow election victory, Morsi promised to head a government "for all Egyptians" but critics complained he had failed to deliver during his turbulent year in office.
Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaoré
Faced with violent protests demanding an end to his 27-year rule, Blaise Compaoré was forced to resign as President.
Initially, Blaise dissolved the government and said he would remain in power until the General Election but later changed his mind and resigned to preserve peace in the country. Compaore had been in office since he took power after a bloody coup in 1987.
Central African Republic's Michel Djotodia
In the Central African Republic, Michel Djotodia, proclaimed himself President of the Republic on March 24, 2013, after the then-president, François Bozizé was overthrown by the Seléka rebels and fled the country. Djotodia was, however, ousted from power on January 10, 2014.
If the Senate pulls through with the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, it will be a historic development since the 2010 Constitution was adopted.
Gachagua will also be Kenya's second Deputy President to be forced out of the second-in-command position after Josephat Njuguna Karanja, a man who became Kenya's Vice President in 1989 under former president Daniel Moi. While former President Moi was out on business, Karanja convened a meeting with key officials without the Head of State's knowledge.
Things were never the same for Dr Karanja since then. What followed was a series of frustrations from Moi's allies in government, and his plight spilled over to an impeachment motion as pressure mounted on him to resign from his position as vice president.
