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Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's tenure as the second in command in the country came down tumbling like a house of cards as MPs voted to send him home.
Gachagua, who had served as deputy president for two years and one month, was shown the door while in hospital.
The ousted DP had been scheduled to take the witness stand on Thursday afternoon, but he was taken ill and admitted at Karen Hospital of chest pains.
The Senate then rejected a plea by Gachagua's lawyers to postpone the hearing to Tuesday next. Senators voted to also defeat a motion to hold a sitting on Saturday.
They argued that the impeachment was a time-bound constitutional process that could not be pushed beyond the 10 days provided for in the Constitution.
Gachagua was then convicted on five of the 11 charges that were brought against him by the mover of the motion, Kibwezi West MP Mwingi Mutuse.
The senators’ refusal to delay proceedings until Saturday—as long as it would have been legally allowed—shows their determination to oust Gachagua, several months after he fell out with President William Ruto.
Last week, an overwhelming majority of MPs in the National Assembly—the lower house of Parliament—voted to impeach him, setting the stage for his two-day trial in the Senate.
Gachagua, a wealthy businessman from the vote-rich central Mount Kenya region who was present in the house on Thursday morning before falling ill, has described the impeachment as "political lynching."
Gachagua was expected to begin his testimony around 12:30 PM, but his legal team informed the Senate that he had been rushed to the hospital.
His attorney, Paul Muite, pleaded with the Senate Speaker to allow time to assess Gachagua's condition before reporting back by 5 PM. However, counsel for the National Assembly disagreed, urging the Speaker to proceed with the trial without the Deputy President's presence, citing the time-sensitive nature of the process.
Addressing the press outside Karen Hospital, Chief Cardiologist Dr Dan Gikonyo reported that Gachagua was admitted around 3 PM after experiencing severe chest pains.
"The deputy president was admitted here this afternoon. He came in about 3 o'clock. He came in with a lot of chest pains. He is undergoing various investigations, blood tests, ECGs, all the things we do to find out if there is any danger," said Dr. Gikonyo around 7:45 PM on Thursday.
He added, "Right now he is stable. The pain is less. Blood pressure is okay, and we are still carrying on with investigations."
Dr Gikonyo noted that Gachagua would require close monitoring for 48 to 72 hours to ensure his safety. "We have to keep him in for about 48-72 hours to make sure that he is safe," he said.
On Thursday evening, the required two-thirds of the 67 senators upheld five charges, including inciting ethnic divisions and violating his oath of office.
The decision was enough for Gachagua to be removed from office.
The unprecedented move means he cannot hold public office again, and he also loses any retirement benefits.
Gachagua was cleared of six charges including corruption and money laundering.
This comes just two years after Ruto and Gachagua were elected on a joint ticket.
The vote draws a line under months of infighting at the top level of government and consolidates Ruto’s hold on power.
President Ruto moved quickly to name a replacement and on Friday morning, nominated Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki to become his deputy.
This has been unanimously approved by the National Assembly with 236 MPs voting in favour of his approval.
The 52-year-old is a close ally of the president and served as his lawyer during his trial for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
However, Gachagua's lawyers who withdrew from the Senate sittings on Thursday evening obtained court orders on Friday afternoon against the impeachment.
Justice Chacha Mwita said there will be no appointment to replace Gachagua until October 24.
He certified the application filed by his Advocate Senior Counsel Paul Muite as urgent and remitted the file to Chief Justice Martha Koome.
Koome will now appoint a bench that will hear and determine the weighty constitutional issues Gachagua raised.
"In the meantime, a conservatory order is issued suspending Senate resolution to uphold the impeachment charges against the Deputy President," said the Judge.
"The file will now be transmitted to the CJ for appropriate orders and action.''
During the week, Gachagua faced a streak of losses both at the courts and in Parliament.
On Wednesday, a three-judge bench of the High Court declined to stop the Senate from proceeding with Gachagua's impeachment.
The bench, formed by Chief Justice Martha Koome, had been appointed to hear five petitions aimed at halting the impeachment process.
In its ruling, the bench led by Justice Erick Ogola, with Justices Antony Mrima and Frida Mugambi, described the petitions as premature and anticipatory. The judges emphasized that interfering with the Senate’s constitutional mandate would undermine the principle of separation of powers.
“It is our view that this is not one such case where intervention is automatic. The issues raised by the parties will need to be interrogated in detail. Therefore, we find that the constitutional principle of separation of powers is best served by declining the application at this point,” the bench ruled.
On Tuesday, Justice Chacha Mwita had also rejected a request by Gachagua’s legal team, led by Senior Counsel Paul Muite and lawyer Tom Macharia, for a conservatory order to suspend the Senate trial. They argued that the impeachment was politically motivated and unconstitutional due to insufficient public participation.
Justice Mwita, in his ruling, stated there was no legal basis to halt the Senate proceedings, stressing that the court could not obstruct Parliament’s constitutional mandate.
“Having considered the application and the arguments presented by both parties, the prayer for a conservatory order is declined,” he ruled.
A total of 26 petitions have been filed challenging Gachagua’s impeachment. The Deputy President faces 11 charges, and the Senate trial is ongoing, with the court set to mention the matter on October 18 for further directions on the hearing of the six consolidated petitions.