The National Assembly on Friday approved the nomination of Prof Kithure Kindiki as deputy president after the Head of State forwarded his name to the house.
Initially expected to be carried out via an electronic system, Speaker Moses Wetangula was forced to change tact and have the MPs vote in a roll-call system due to a technical hitch.
As soon as the voting started, however, two trends were immediately apparent. One, all the present MPs, 236 in total voted in favour of Kindiki’s nomination while some of the most vocal Gachagua’s allies were conspicuously absent.
Githunguri MP Gathoni Wamuchomba, one of the most vocal supporters was one of the members of parliament missing from the proceedings.
Others were; Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, Benjamin "Mejja Donk" Gathiru, and Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina.
On Thursday, October 17, Wamuchomba broke down into tears outside the Karen Hospital where Gachagua is admitted following an illness that she says was a result of the stressful impeachment process saying, “Unfortunately, the Deputy President is overwhelmed, and I guess that's why he's here."
After the Senate's impeachment decision wa confirmed, a tearful Wamuchomba who was accompanied by former Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri stated that she had not been able to have a conversation with the deputy president.
Wamuchomba,Gakuya and Mejja Donk have remained loyal to Gachagua even before he was impeached.
Other notable MPs who were conspicuously absent were Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, who also missed the impeachment debate.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro who has remained remarkably silent on the process, and Mumias East MP Peter Salasya who objected to Gachagua’s impeachment were also absent as well.
The approval of Kithure Kindiki sets the stage to replace Gachagua although the High Court has already issued conservatory orders stopping the process.
"That in the meantime, due to the issues raised in the petition and application, and the urgency demonstrated, a conservatory order is hereby issued staying implementation of the resolution by the Senate upholding the impeachment charges against the petitioner, the Deputy President of Kenya," Judge Chacha Mwita ordered.
The whole replacement process is expected to end within the next 60 days.
The president had up to 14 days to nominate a new deputy.
Several senior politicians including Kirinyaga governor Anne Waiguru and Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi's names were being floated for the top role.
Before the voting, MPs requested clarification on what the next step would be as this was the first time in Kenya’s history that a deputy president had been impeached.
“From a reading of Article 149, it is clear that the National Assembly is required to vote on the nomination within 60 days. Notably, the Constitution's drafters intentionally distinguished the language in this article, specifically requiring a vote, not an approval, on the nomination,” Speaker Wetangula explained.
