Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has failed to appear in Senate to testify at his impeachment trial, with his lawyer saying that he has been taken ill.
The deputy president, who was present in the house in the morning, had been due to appear from 14:30 local time (11:30 GMT) to defend himself before a vote was due on Thursday evening about whether to remove him from office.
“The sad reality is that the deputy president of the Republic of Kenya has been taken sick, very sick, and is… in hospital,” said his lawyer Paul Muite.
Sittings have been suspended until 17:00. Speaker of Parliament Amason Kingi said they were expecting the deputy president to take the witness stand then.
The speaker said the case could then proceed without him, or “for exceptional reasons” he could be appear later, citing a rule of the trial procedures.
Speaking to local Citizen TV, Senator Daniel Maanzo said this was an exceptional trial and another “new exceptional situation has arisen that is not even anticipated by the law”, saying they would make submissions to push the speaker make a judgement.
He said the deputy president “just looked tired” but had lunch at his office with other senators who had said he was fine, with everyone expecting him to appear for his defence.
Two-thirds of the 67 senators are required to oust him.
He faces 11 charges, including corruption, inciting ethnic divisions and undermining government.
As the trial began on Wednesday, the deputy president pleaded not guilty to each of the charges as they were read out in the house. He has described the impeachment as a “political witch hunt”.
An overwhelming majority of MPs in the National Assembly last week voted to approve his impeachment, setting the stage for the Senate trial.
He has fallen out with President William Ruto, just two years after they were elected on a joint ticket.
Credit: bbc.com
