The National Assembly on Friday approved President William Ruto's decision to appoint Kithure Kindiki as the country's Deputy President following the removal of Rigathi Gachagua in power.
The decision was announced after 236 MPs voted to support the motion, without any opposition.
MPs had to vote twice after a minor technical error occurred in the first round electronically.
“Dear members of parliament, the vote for the appointment of a Professor Kithur Kindiki to fill the position of Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya is as follows, no one abstained, no one voted 'no' and those who voted 'yes' are 236, the vote has been passed by a majority of 'yes',” Speaker Wetangula announced.
“The nomination has been announced as approved by the parliament, and the speaker will present the results to the president, the speaker will also sign an official newspaper announcement for that purpose, and the nominee for the position of Deputy President has been voted by the parliament and will be presented to the relevant authority,” added the speaker.
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The move followed the Speaker's announcement Moses Wetangulainforming MPs about the National Leader's decision to appoint former Tharaka Nithi Senator.
Before the voting process, some MPs asked Speaker Wetangula to provide clarification and guidance on the process of handling the appointment of Kindiki as the new Deputy President.
Led by Navakholo Member of Parliament Emmanuel Wangwe, MPs wanted to understand if the National Assembly would be required to conduct the investigation process and approve the appointment according to the Public Appointments and Parliamentary Approval Act.
Wangwe stressed that Article 124 of the Constitution requires any appointment to be approved by parliament and examined by the relevant committee whose recommendations will be sent to parliament for approval.
“Mr. Speaker, your statement did not provide guidance on how this process will be handled. Please guide us on the steps you intend to take,” Wangwe prayed.
However, the MPs were informed that the National Assembly will not use the same process that was used on October 8 during the removal of the former Deputy President where the motion was made for public participation before approval.
While repeating the issue, Speaker Wetangula referred to Article 149 of the Constitution, which states that if a vacancy occurs in the office of the Deputy President, the president must appoint a candidate within fourteen days.
“From the reading of Article 149, it is clear that the National Assembly is required to vote on the nomination within 60 days. More importantly, the authors of the Constitution deliberately differentiated the language in this article, by requiring a vote, not approval, for the nomination, ” Speaker Wetangula explained.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
