President William Ruto has nominated Ministry of Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki as the vice president for approval by the National Assembly.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula made the announcement paving way for Kindiki to be vetted by MPs before his formal appointment by the president.
“I am satisfied that the candidate meets the requirements under Article 148, as read together with Article 137 of the Constitution, to fill the vacancy in the Office of the Deputy President. Consequently, the nomination is properly before the House for the decision required under Article 149(1) of the Constitution,” Wetangula said, “Article 149(1) states that upon receipt of a nomination to fill a vacancy in the Office of the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, the House is required to vote on the nomination.”
Prof. Kindiki, currently serving as Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, will require approval from the National Assembly before assuming the role of Deputy President. The Assembly must vote on the nomination within 60 days of receiving the name.
Kindiki attended Irunduni Primary School, then Lenana School, before earning a law degree from the University of Nairobi. He later obtained a Master's and PhD from the University of Pretoria.
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Returning to academia, he taught law at Moi and Nairobi universities and occasionally was a visiting lecturer abroad.
Kindiki entered public service in 2008 when he was appointed Secretary for the National Cohesion and Reconciliation outfit by the late President Mwai Kibaki.
He gained national prominence when Ruto appointed him to his legal team during the International Criminal Court (ICC) trial for crimes against humanity. Leveraging this visibility, Kindiki transitioned to politics, successfully contesting the Senate seat for Tharaka Nithi in 2013 under the TNA party.
He was elected on his first attempt and served two terms, rising to the position of Deputy Speaker during his second term.
However, as tensions grew between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President Ruto, Kindiki faced challenges in the Senate and was eventually impeached.
He has since served as Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration in President Ruto’s first and reconstructed Cabinet.
His appointment comes after the Senate Speaker Amason Kingi gazetted the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, consequently formalizing the removal of the country's second in command from office.
The Gazette Notice, dated October 17, 2024, was released Thursday night immediately after the Senate approved the impeachment motion against Gachagua.
In the notice, the Senate Speaker listed the five grounds on which the Senate voted to send Gachagua home.
Thee five grounds for Gachagua's impeachment upheld by the Senate include 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 Article 147 (1), as read together with Article 131 (2) (c) and (d) of the Constitution.
Other grounds are gross violation of Article 160 (1) of the Constitution on the Institutional and Decisional Independence of Judges, gross violation of Articles 3 (1) and 148 (5) (a) of the Constitution on the fidelity to the Oath of Office and Allegiance and serious reasons to believe that H.E., the Deputy President, has committed crimes under sections 13 (1) (a) and 62 of the National Cohesion and Integration Act.
As well as gross misconduct incompatible with the high calling and dignified status of the Office of the Deputy President.
