Tunde Sulaiman Kenya’s parliament has begun the final step to remove Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua from office just two years after he was elected on a joint ticket with the president.
An overwhelming majority voted in the National Assembly last week to approve his impeachment, setting the stage for the two-day trial in the Senate that takes the final decision.
The deputy president faces 11 charges including corruption, inciting ethnic divisions and undermining government – all of which he denies, reports the BBC.
The row follows his recent fallout with President William Ruto, who has remained silent about the matter.
Gachagua’s trial is being conducted before the full house of the Senate after it abandoned a process to set up an 11-member committee to investigate the charges.
The deputy president stood before the chamber as the charges were read out to him at the start of the trial – pleading not guilty to each one.
