The refusal of the senators to postpone proceedings until Saturday – for as long as legally allowed – demonstrates their determination to remove Gachagua, several months after his fallout with President William Ruto.
Last week, a vast majority of MPs in the National Assembly – the lower house of parliament – voted to impeach him, paving the way for his two-day trial in the Senate.
Gachagua, a prosperous businessman from the influential central Mount Kenya region who was present in the house in the morning, has labeled the impeachment as a “political lynching.”
On Thursday evening, the necessary two-thirds of the 67 senators voted to expel him on charges including corruption, incitement of ethnic divisions, and undermining the government.
The senators overwhelmingly voted to convict him on the first count – sufficient for his removal from office.
This development comes just two years after Ruto and Gachagua were elected on a joint ticket.
The vote marks the end of months of infighting at the highest levels of government and solidifies Ruto’s grip on power.
The conflict reached a climax in June when Gachagua, in an action perceived as undermining the president, criticized the head of the intelligence agency for failing to properly brief Ruto and the government on the extent of mass protests against unpopular tax hikes.
In a significant blow to his authority, Ruto had just been compelled to retract the taxes. He disbanded his cabinet and brought in opposition members to his government.
Ruto has not issued a statement on the impeachment of his deputy.
At the commencement of the trial, one of Gachagua’s attorneys, Elisha Ongoya, stated that all the allegations were “either false, ridiculous, or embarrassing.”
Before the vote, Gachagua had declared that he would contest the decision if it went through.
A doctor quoted by the Reuters news agency mentioned that the 59-year-old had been admitted to the hospital with heart issues but was stable and undergoing tests.
Kenyan media have already started speculating about his potential replacements, with four individuals mentioned:
– Murang’a County Governor Irungu Kang’ata
– Kirinyaga County Governor Anne Waiguru
– Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki
– Foreign Affairs Minister Musalia Mudavadi.
Additional coverage by the BBC’s Jewel Kiriungi in Nairobi.