BY HERMAN MANYORA
Long before the constitutionally prescribed impeachment process is over, speculation is already building over who might take over from Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
This comes after the National Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in support of the motion by Kibwezi MP Mwengi Mutuse for the impeachment of Gachagua over a raft of allegations, ranging from corruption to abuse of office.
After the vote in the National Assembly, attention is already turning to potential successors, even though the move by the National Assembly is now the subject of more than five court cases.
This also comes before the Senate sits to conduct the impeachment trial of the Deputy President. Gachagua’s lawyers, led by Senior Counsel Paul Muite, have argued in court that he was not given a proper chance to defend himself.
The case has now been referred to Chief Justice Martha Koome to assemble a bench for further hearings. Leading candidates from the Mt Kenya region include Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro.
Those who see Kindiki as a frontrunner point out that the Interior Cabinet Secretary has for some time topped in virtually all opinion polls as the bestperforming CS.
They also point out a recent trend in the Mt Kenya region where top politicians from both Mt Kenya East and Mt Kenya West have endorsed him as the spokesperson of the region, in a move seen as part of the supremacy battle for the region’s political kingpin position, which fell vacant on retirement of immediate former President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kang’ata is also deemed to be close enough to the President and his relative neutrality on the Gachagua issue makes him less divisive than many potential candidates for the Number Two slot.
Waiguru’s chances would soar higher if the President were to go by a criterion he himself suggested when he once said that perhaps the rules of the United Democratic Alliance, which he heads, should be amended so that if the presidential running mate is a man, the running mate should be a woman.
Away from the gender lens, she is also an astute politician. As for Nyoro, the fact that he decided not to vote on the motion in the National Assembly to impeach Gachagua is being interpreted in some quarters as a suggestion that he is already one of the top contenders and he would therefore want to be seen as neutral should he clinch the Number Two slot.
In other words, he would not want to be seen as a benefi ciary of a seat whose previous owner he helped kick out.
However, some analysts believe that President William Ruto could look beyond his immediate allies in the government, and go beyond the opinion poll candidates to shore up support where his loyalists are facing increasing opposition. In this context, former Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has been mentioned.
He is an experienced politician and non-divisive. He also has experience in national leadership, having led the Health ministry at a critical juncture when the country was combating the coronavirus pandemic.
This, some feel, may also have accorded him a great sense of national appeal, though his distance from the inner sanctums of UDA, where key decisions are made, might work against him.
Another name that stands out is that of former Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri, a veteran politician and a trusted ally of President Ruto.
Kiunjuri has a strong history with the President, which goes back to their days in Parliament. Indeed, when he was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture by then President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017, and to the Devolution and Planning portfolio much earlier, many analysts saw the hand of his close ally and then Deputy President, Ruto.
Some argue that his close relationship with Ruto cost him his Cabinet position in 2020, so much that when he failed to vie for a seat in the 2022 general election, it was interpreted should Gachagua be removed from office, Ruto also has the option to look beyond the Mt Kenya region for a potential replacement.
In this regard, two names have emerged prominently: Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga.
HERMAN MANYORA - Political Analyst