Kenyan authorities have instructed staff members of impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and some of his senior advisors to take compulsory leave starting at noon on Saturday. Additionally, all contracts for temporary contract workers have been suspended as per an internal memo.
This directive will impact 108 senior officials, according to reports. The government has directed all department heads to appoint a responsible officer in writing to oversee their respective departments. A copy of the letter has been forwarded to the head of the public service.
These directives were issued following Gachagua’s impeachment on charges of corruption, abuse of office, and inciting ethnic divisions, supported by both houses of parliament. He has, however, denied any wrongdoing.
Gachagua is the first deputy president in Kenya to be impeached since the process was introduced in the country’s revised 2010 constitution.
Despite lawmakers confirming President William Ruto’s nomination of Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki as the new deputy, a court in Nairobi later halted the appointment.