The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) will replace the impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua as the party’s deputy, Secretary-General Omar Hassan has said.

Speaking on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, Hassan indicated that the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) would convene a meeting at the tail end of the court ruling and come up with a new deputy party leader.

“We are waiting for the conclusion of the processes in the courts. But then, the party process is very simple. It can be even at 6:00 am. There is a NEC that appoints and the process of revocation; so once the process at the courts is concluded, it will be easy to say that we will sit down as a party and replace the deputy party leader with the new deputy president, and I am confident that will be in favour of Kithure Kindiki,” Hassan said.

Strained relationship

Hassan noted that the relationship between Gachagua and the president was strained and that they could no longer work together.

He indicated that Gachagua’s goose was cooked the moment he seemed to be pulling in a different direction from President William Ruto in his call for unity and policy directions.

Gachagua impeached

During his impeachment, more than two-thirds of legislators in the National Assembly and the Senate voted to expel Gachagua from office on the 11 grounds that were presented as grounds for his removal from office by way of impeachment.

The Senate found Gachagua guilty of five of the 11 charges brought against him on Thursday, October 17, 2024, in a process where the DP failed to appear in person.

His lawyers have since taken the matter to court, arguing that their client was not given the fundamental right to be heard. Also, the lawyers have petitioned that there was no meaningful public participation in the process before it was taken back to both houses of parliament for voting.