Following legal difficulties, Kenya’s new deputy president was sworn in

The new Deputy President of Kenya, Kithure Kindiki, was sworn in on Friday after weeks of legal challenges by his predecessor, who was removed from office by parliament last month.

The Senate decided to remove Rigathi Gachagua, who was vice president before, from office in October on charges that he had broken the constitution in a major way and stirred up racial hatred. He denies these charges and says they are politically driven.

Gachagua and his allies filed over 30 court cases to stop him from being fired and replaced, so Kenya’s High Court put Kindiki’s inauguration on hold.

The stay order was lifted on Thursday, though, because judges said that the constitution says the vice president post shouldn’t stay open.

The country, which has East Africa’s biggest economy, has been going through months of political unrest, which started in June with protests across the country against unpopular tax hikes. Gachagua’s court fights made things even worse.

President William Ruto brought in members of the opposition to form what he called a “unity government” in July, after protesters stormed parliament and caused a lot of trouble.

The changes in politics also put Gachagua out of the picture. During Ruto’s campaign, Gachagua helped get a lot of votes from people in the Mount Kenya area. The two men no longer get along.

While Ruto hasn’t said anything about the removal process, he did call for national unity and an end to “tribalism and exclusion” last month.

Gachagua said the government was like a business with shares, and he implied that people who voted for the winning coalition should have easier access to government jobs.

“Serve the people of Kenya equally, those who voted for us and those who did not vote for us,” Ruto told Kindiki after she was sworn in as deputy. The people of Kenya all have equal rights to the government.

Kindiki was a strong candidate to be Ruto’s running mate in the 2022 election. She was named interior minister soon after Ruto became president in September of that year.