The Members of Parliament on Friday 18, voted Prof Kithure Kindiki as the replacement for the impeached Rigathi Gachagua for the position of the Deputy President. This followed nomination of Kindiki by H.E President William Ruto who pointed Kindiki as the most preferred candidate to deputize him.
The motion was tabled on at the NA by the assembly speaker Moses Wetangula who notified the Members of Parliament (MPs) of the Head of State’s decision to nominate the former Tharaka Nithi Senator.
After experiencing a bit of technical hitch during the first round of voting on the motion regarding approval of the President’s nominee, the lawmakers then unanimously voted in favour of the motion, with all the 236 present members deeming Kindiki fit for the position. No MP voted against the motion.
Giving further directives to the assembly regarding the procedure needed to be followed to vote Kindiki for the new office, Speaker explained that the constitution only allows the lawmakers to vote for the President’s nominee and not to give approval.
Wetangula referred to Article 149 of the Constitution, which explains that a President is mandated to nominate the person who would fill the vacancy in the office of the deputy president, within 14-days after impeachment. The NA would therefore have 60-days to vote on the nominated candidate.
“From a reading of Article 149, it is clear that the National Assembly is required to vote on the nomination within 60 days. Notably, the Constitution’s drafters intentionally distinguished the language in this article, specifically requiring a vote, not an approval, on the nomination,” Speaker Wetangula explained.
This comes, even as the former DP Rigathi Gachagua and his team, have shown no heart of relenting, moving to the court to stop the swearing in of any new DP