By George Obulutsa
NAIROBI (Reuters) -Kenya’s President William Ruto nominated Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki as his new deputy on Friday, hours after the Senate voted to impeach the last man in the job, Rigathi Gachagua.
Ruto’s nomination of a close ally – who still needs to be approved by parliament – comes after a period of political turmoil, mass protests and the first removal of a Kenyan deputy president by impeachment.
“I have received a message from … the president, regarding the nomination of Professor Kithure Kindiki to fill the vacancy which has occurred in the office,” Speaker Moses Wetang’ula said in the National Assembly.
Gachagua was impeached on five out of 11 charges including gross violation of the constitution and stirring ethnic hatred – accusations that he denied and dismissed as politically motivated.
He backed Ruto in his 2022 election win and helped secure a large block of votes from the populous central Kenya region. But in recent months, Gachagua has spoken of being sidelined, amid widespread reports in local media signalling a rift with Ruto as political alliances shifted.
Kindiki was a top contender to be Ruto’s running mate during the 2022 election and was appointed interior minister shortly after the president took office in September that year.
The interior ministry includes oversight of the police. Rights groups have accused the police of using excessive force during protests earlier this year that called for the withdrawal of a now-shelved finance law and reforms to tackle corruption.
Appearing before parliament in September, Kindiki said police acted within the law and that the government did not engage in extrajudicial killings or abductions.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alexander Winning, Ammu Kannampilly and Andrew Heavens)
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