Kenya’s Deputy President, Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua, has been sick and is in hospital, his lawyer said on Thursday, October 17, 2024, just before he was due to give evidence in his impeachment prosecution at the Senate.

The shocking reality is that the Kenyan Deputy President is now so sick and is presently hospitalised; his counsel, Paul Muite, informed the upper house of parliament, stressing Gachagua’s absence from the chamber.

The report motivated Senate Speaker Amason Kingi to postpone sessions until 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) when Gachagua is anticipated to attest.

“We anticipated the Deputy President to take the witness stand at 5. Regrettably, this is a timebound process. It is so ordered,” Kingi asserted.

The Senate prosecution, which started on Wednesday, follows a historic vote last week in the National Assembly to dismiss Gachagua on 11 count charges involving corruption, insubordination, undermining the government, and partaking in ethnically disruptive politics.