Kisre Kindiki was chosen to replace Rigati Gachagua, but the High Court suspended his appointment until next week.
A day after the Senate voted to impeach Ligachi Gachagua, Kenya’s president appointed Interior Minister Kitule Kindiki as the new vice president.
President William Ruto nominated Kindiki on Friday and Parliament approved him unanimously. However, the high court later issued an order suspending Gachagua’s replacement until Thursday, when the case against impeachment is to be heard.
Gachagua was impeached late Thursday while hospitalized.
Supporters of the former vice president have criticized the impeachment process as being rushed after senators voted against giving Gachagua more days to recover and appear before the Senate. There is.
His impeachment highlighted divisions within the ruling party and friction between Ruto and Gachagua over government policy.
Kindiki, 52, was a front-runner for vice president in the 2022 election. Like Gachagua, he also hails from the vote-rich Mount Kenya region.
Mr Kindiki is a close ally of the president and held a post in the interior ministry during Mr Ruto’s two years as party leader. He previously served as the Tharaka Niti district senator.
Gachagua filed a petition in court on Friday seeking an injunction to prevent his replacement, Reuters reported, citing court documents.
Justice Enoch Chacha Mwita then issued an injunction, suspending proceedings until Thursday.
historical movement
In an unprecedented move, a majority of parliamentarians voted last week to impeach Gachagua on 11 charges, including corruption, undermining the government and inciting ethnic hatred.
As a result, he lost his retirement benefits and was unable to hold public office again.
The Senate voted to remove Gachagua from office on Thursday, even though he was absent from proceedings due to illness.
His lawyer, Paul Muito, said Gachagua was hospitalized with “severe chest pains” and asked the Senate to suspend the trial for several days.
Gachagua has maintained his innocence and launched a legal challenge to the impeachment proceedings in the High Court, but Judge Eric Ogola said the impeachment proceedings could proceed.
He backed Ruto to victory in the 2022 election, helping secure a large swath of votes from the populous central Kenya region. He spoke about being removed from his seat amid widespread reports in local media that he had fallen out with Ruto following a change in political alliances.
Following nationwide protests against tax hikes that left more than 50 people dead, Mr. Ruto in July sacked most of his cabinet members and appointed opposition politicians in what he called a unity government.
