(Bloomberg) — Kenya’s National Assembly will hear an impeachment motion against Vice President Rigathi Gachagua on Tuesday, a move that could potentially destabilize the East African economy, which has barely recovered from months of anti-government protests.
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Gachagua, 59, is alleged to have violated the East African country’s constitution by making inflammatory and inflammatory statements to stir up ethnic hatred, according to the petition to be filed by Mwengi Mutuse, a member of parliament. The motion also claims that since coming to power two years ago, Gachagua has built up a real estate portfolio worth 5.2 billion shillings ($40.3 million) from suspected proceeds of corruption and money laundering.
The motion, which outlines ten grounds for impeachment, further accuses the deputy of insubordination, undermining cabinet decisions and launching attacks on officials, including a judge and the country’s intelligence chief.
“Gachagua uses his constitutional power as vice president solely to advance sectarian, parochial, and personal interests that benefit him,” the petition reads. “He operates as Frankenstein’s famous monster, stretching across the entire public sector landscape, seeking dominance and issuing orders to carry out. Anyone who stands in his path is an enemy.”
Gachagua’s supporters say the measure is more aimed at ousting him. The vice president calls the trial a witch hunt and denies all allegations.
“When I came to power, I was not a poor man,” he told reporters earlier this week. “The government didn’t make me rich and I don’t need wealth anymore. I am not corrupt, I was a businessman.”
Weeks after he was sworn in, prosecutors dropped a 7.3 billion shillings corruption case against Gachagua, saying investigations were incomplete.
Ethnic hostilities
The motion is the latest sign of a deteriorating relationship between President William Ruto and Gachagua, which suffered a blow after the thawing of ties with opposition leader Raila Odinga earlier this year. The tension could disrupt legislative processes, create uncertainty and weigh on economic growth.
To impeach the vice president, two-thirds of the members of both the National Assembly and the Senate will have to vote in favor of the impeachment. Although the ruling coalition has just over half of the 347 parliamentarians, some are expected to side with Gachagua, along with some of the opposition.
Gachagua’s ouster could reignite hostilities in Kenya’s ethnic politics, which in the past have culminated in election violence that has left about 1,200 people dead. Ruto, from the Kalenjin community, and Gachagua, an ethnic Kikuyu, jointly won the disputed 2022 elections, narrowly defeating Odinga.
Ruto’s rapprochement with Odinga, which has led to the appointment of four opposition leaders to the Cabinet, was aimed at galvanizing broader support for the president amid street marches that have left at least 60 people dead. Ultimately, however, it led to rifts in both the ruling coalition and the opposition.
If the motion passes both houses, the president must appoint a successor and lawmakers must vote within 60 days.
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