The deposed Kenyan vice-president is replaced by police state enforcer Kithure Kindiki

On Thursday, Kenyan Vice President Rigathi Gachagua was removed from office after being impeached by the country’s Senate. In doing so, he became the first vice president to be removed from office since impeachment was introduced in Kenya’s 2010 constitution.

Kithure Kindiki, the blood-stained Minister of the Interior, has replaced Gachagua. Kindiki led the brutal suppression of Gen-Z protests in June, July and August, which resulted in the deaths of at least 61 protesters at the hands of police, 67 enforced disappearances and hundreds of injuries.

During this period, Kindiki has repeatedly violated the constitution by banning protests and using state-sanctioned thugs to terrorize demonstrators. The year before the Gen-Z uprising, he oversaw the killing of 71 anti-austerity protesters. In northern Kenya, Kindiki, under the guise of fighting ‘banditry’, ordered police to kill hundreds of pastoralists, many of whom have been displaced by capitalism-induced climate change.

Kindiki becomes vice president as the government continues to escalate International Monetary Fund (IMF) austerity measures, including tax hikes and privatizations.

The Supreme Court has temporarily suspended Kindiki’s appointment while it considers Gachagua’s appeal, which will be heard on Thursday.

Gachagua, a former MP, was elected deputy president alongside President Ruto in August 2022. His selection was a calculated move, part of the deep-rooted tribalist politics of Kenya’s ruling class. Gachagua, a wealthy but relatively unknown corrupt businessman, was chosen as Ruto’s running mate to secure campaign funds and support from the Kikuyu community – Kenya’s largest ethnic group – frustrated by the outgoing president’s corruption and anti-worker policies Uhuru Kenyatta. , who also comes from the same community.

During the Gen-Z protests, Gachagua fell out of favor with Ruto as he tried to deflect blame for the mass demonstrations, which saw millions take to the streets in opposition to the government’s tax increases in the Finance Bill 2024 and demand Ruto’s resignation to the National Intelligence Service (NIS). Gachagua publicly criticized the NIS, accusing it of “failing” to properly brief Ruto and senior police officials on the growing unrest among youth and workers, suggesting the agency had “been asleep on the job.”

His comments were seen by Ruto as undermining him at a time when he was forcing brutal action against protesters, backed by both the European Union and Washington.