Song and dance greeted the nomination of Interior CS Kithure Kindiki as Deputy President in his home village of Irunduni Tharaka Nithi county even as the courts suspended the impeachment of incumbent Rigathi Gachagua.
But despite the sudden turn of events, the villagers were full of joy that their son had been nominated to the second highest office on land.
They sang and danced in joy and at some point, sang the national anthem to celebrate Kindiki's prospective new status as the second most powerful leader in the country.
The national anthem was preceded by the singing of gospel songs in praise of God.
“Ainuliwe bwana wa mabwana, ainuliwe ametenda wema [Praise be to the Lord of lords, praise be to Him He has done well],” they sang.
“Ametenda mema huyu Yesu ndio maana mimi nampa sifa [He has done me well this Jesus; that’s why I’m praising him].”
On Thursday night, a majority of senators voted to approve five of the 11 charges levelled against Gachagua in the impeachment motion fronted by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse. 53 out of 66 senators voted yes for the first charge(Gross violation of articles 10 (2) (a), (b) and (c); 27 (4), 73 (1) (a) and (2) (b); 75 (1) (c), and 129 (2) of the constitution and articles 147 (1), as read with article 131 (2)(c) and (d) of the constitution.)
The other four charges are gross violation of the decisional independence of judges, gross violation of fidelity to the Oath of office and allegiance, violation of the National Cohesion and Integration Act and gross misconduct that is incompatible with the high calling and dignified status of the DP’s office.
In a message relayed
to the National Assembly via speaker Moses Wetang’ula, President William Ruto on
Friday informed the House that he had nominated Kindiki as his deputy, hours
after the Senate upheld Gachagua’s impeachment.
The National Assembly then voted to approve Kindiki’s nomination as the new DP.
“It is notified that, pursuant to Article 149 (1), read together with Article 122 of the Constitution of Kenya, the National Assembly has, at its sitting held on Friday, October 18, 2024, voted in favour of the nomination of Kithure Kindiki to fill the vacancy in the Office of the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya,” Wetang’ula said.
But moments later, Gachagua obtained a court order suspending the Senate’s resolution to impeach him.
He also obtained orders barring the appointment of his replacement.
Justice Chacha Mwita certified the application filed by Senior Counsel Paul Muite as urgent and directed that there will be no appointments to replace Gachagua until October 24.
The judge remitted the file to Chief Justice Martha Koome a bench to hear and determine the constitutional issues raised by Gachagua.
"In the meantime, a conservatory order is issued suspending Senate’s resolution to uphold the impeachment charges against the Deputy President," Justice Mwita said.