A section of Kenyans has preferred five politicians to take up the deputy president position should Rigathi Gachagua get impeached, research by Trends and Insights For Africa (TIFA) has shown.

According to the poll released on Monday, October 7, 2024, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki was the most preferred candidate to fill the vacancy effected by the removal of the current DP.

The TIFA report indicates that the expectations for Kindiki to assume the DP office should Gachagua get impeached are considerably higher among the residents of the Mt. Kenya region.

37 per cent of Kenyans say Kindiki is the ideal candidate, with five per cent preferring Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi.

Another five per cent argued that Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro is the perfect replacement for DP Gachagua, while three per cent preferred Kirinyaga county governor Anne Waiguru.

However, two per cent have preferred Homa Bay county governor Gladys Wanga, while five per cent seemed okay with other candidates that may emerge.

Another 33 per cent were not sure of the best replacement for DP Gachagua should he get removed from office through impeachment.

“Most Kenyans expect Interior CS Kithure Kindiki to fill the vacancy affected by the removal of the current DP should that occur, with such expectations considerably higher among the residents of the Mt. Kenya region itself. Note, however, that the popularity of all such possible replacements for Gachagua was not measured in this survey,” TIFA says in its findings.

Kenyans on Gachagua’s removal

The opinion poll by TIFA revealed that a bigger section of Kenyans want DP Gachagua removed from office by impeachment.

In the research that was conducted between October 1, 2024, and October 4, 2024, 41 per cent of Kenyans supported DP Gachagua’s ouster.

They have given various reasons for supporting the impeachment of the second in command.
The DP’s perceived discriminatory attitude and speech in favour of the people from the Mt Kenya region is the major reason why Kenyans want him ousted.

The report reveals that 35 per cent of those who participated in the research supported Gachagua’s impeachment based on his perceived discriminatory attitude.

20 per cent of Kenyans who support his ouster argued that the DP has performed poorly in terms of leadership for the two years he has been in office.

“By far, the most frequent reason for supporting the DP’s impeachment (by those who do so) is his perceived discriminatory attitude and speech in favour of his own (Mt. Kenya) community (35%), though poor performance/bad leadership (20%) may also include such a failure together with various others,” the report by TIFA reads in part.