On Friday, November 1, the Kenyan newspapers widely reported how Kithure Kindiki is poised to be the second in command.
The Standard
A procedural error by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s legal team has set back his case against impeachment. Gachagua’s lawyers served only the original respondents, excluding parties who joined the case later.
Opposing attorneys seized on this oversight, leading the court to postpone proceedings until the following week.
Gachagua initially named the Attorney General, the Senate, the two speakers of Parliament, President William Ruto, the Law Society of Kenya, and Kithure Kindiki as respondents.
However, the three-judge panel later included the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in the case.
UDA’s lawyer Adrian Kamotho and IEBC’s legal representatives noted they had not received court documents.
With this, the judges lifted the injunction preventing Kindiki’s swearing-in as Deputy President and deferred the hearing to next week.
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Daily Nation
Professor Kithure Kindiki appears set to become Kenya’s Deputy President, following a court decision clearing the way. Justices Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima, and Fred Mugambi confirmed their jurisdiction over the petitions challenging Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment.
They emphasized that the 2010 Constitution does not envision the Deputy President’s office left vacant for longer than the time required to fill it.
In their ruling, the judges stressed the importance of public interest in maintaining an uninterrupted office. Kindiki is now poised to be the 13th principal assistant to the President in Kenya’s history.
The Star
The Kenyan government faces a financial crisis that has slowed public operations to a near standstill. The National Treasury has been forced into borrowing due to mounting debt repayments.
By June 2024, Kenya’s debt had reached KSh 10.6 trillion, up from KSh 10.3 trillion the previous year, and edging closer to KSh 11 trillion.
To complicate matters, the Finance Bill 2024, expected to bring in an extra KSh 350 billion, was withdrawn, leaving the government grappling with a growing deficit as tax revenue shrinks.
People Daily
Kenyan teachers are pushing for significant salary increases and improved benefits. Secondary school teachers are demanding a 60-100% pay raise ahead of the upcoming National Delegates Conference in December. They also propose a standing allowance equal to 30% of the basic salary, citing the physical toll of teaching on their feet.
Additionally, science teachers are seeking a detoxification allowance, 20% of their basic salary, due to regular exposure to potentially hazardous substances in school laboratories.
Taifa Leo
Police in Kisumu have shot dead a suspect in the murder of Willis Ayieko, a Wells Fargo human resources manager. Detectives tracked the suspect, whose identity was not disclosed, to a guesthouse near Kisumu Polytechnic and killed him in a confrontation.
The deceased was reportedly one of two individuals who previously escaped police after a gunfight in Gem. Nyanza Regional Commander Patrick Tito said the manhunt for remaining suspects is ongoing, noting that a female suspect in the case succumbed to injuries after engaging police during her arrest.