Deputy President of the
Republic of Kenya
Naibu Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kenya
Coat of arms of Kenya
Incumbent
Rigathi Gachagua
since 13 September 2022
StyleHis Excellency/Her Excellency
ResidenceThe Deputy President's Mansion
SeatNairobi
AppointerDirect popular vote or, if vacant, President
Term lengthFive years, renewable once
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Kenya
Inaugural holderJaramogi Oginga Odinga
Formation12 December 1964; 59 years ago (1964-12-12)
SalaryKSh.14,724,000.00 annual[1]
Websitewww.deputypresident.go.ke
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The deputy president of the Republic of Kenya (Swahili: Naibu Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kenya) is the principal assistant of the President of the Republic of Kenya.[2]

History

Prior to the 2010 Constitution of Kenya, the deputy president was known as the vice president, and the president had the power to appoint and dismiss the vice president at will.

In order to remove the repeated abuse of this privilege, the new Constitution promulgated in 2010 mandated that the person nominated as the running mate of a candidate for the presidency during the elections becomes the deputy president-elect upon their candidate being declared the winner of the presidential elections. In addition to this change in appointing responsibility, unlike in the previous Constitution where the vice president usually held a secondary role of being a Cabinet Minister,[3] the new Constitution mandates that the deputy president is not permitted to hold any other state or public office and shall only perform the duties assigned to the office by the Constitution and by the president.

Since the country's independence, there has been one vacancy in the office, from 8 January 1998 until 3 April 1999.[3] Three of Kenya's Vice/Deputy Presidents, Mwai Kibaki, Daniel arap Moi and William Ruto have gone on to serve as President, with the latter currently serving as the incumbent President since 13 September 2022.[4] Prior to this, he served as acting president for a few days after president Uhuru Kenyatta temporarily transferred his powers and office to appear before the International Criminal Court.[5]

Qualifications and election to office

The 2010 Constitution states that for a person to become the Deputy President, the person must be nominated as the running mate of a candidate in the presidential elections and the person must themselves qualify to be nominated as a candidate for election as President.[6]

Upon a person being nominated as a running mate and their candidate wins the elections, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission then declares that the candidate is the President-elect, and the running mate is subsequently the Deputy President-elect.

The Deputy President-elect takes office on the same day as the President-elect and serves from the date sworn in until:

  1. The next President-elect is sworn in.
  2. Upon assuming the office of the President; or
  3. Resignation, death or being removed from office under the conditions provided by the Constitution

Responsibilities

The following is a summary of the responsibilities of the Deputy President as provided in the Constitution:[7]

  1. Serves as the President's principal assistant and deputises for the President in the performance of the responsibilities of the President.
  2. The Deputy President acts as the President if the sitting President is absent, temporarily incapacitated or whenever the President assigns this responsibility; and
  3. Performing any other responsibility assigned by the Constitution and the President.

List of officeholders

Parties
  Kenya African National Union (KANU)
  National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) / Party of National Unity (PNU)
  Orange Democratic Movement – Kenya (ODM–K)
  Jubilee Alliance (JA)
  United Democratic Alliance (UDA)
Key

† Died in office

No. Picture Name
(Birth–Death) 		Term of office Political party
Took office Left office Time in office
Vice President of Kenya
1 Jaramogi Oginga Odinga
(1911–1994) 		12 December 1964 14 April 1966 1 year, 123 days KANU
2 Joseph Murumbi
(1911–1990) 		3 May 1966 31 August 1964 120 days KANU
3 Daniel arap Moi
(1924–2020) 		5 January 1967 22 August 1978 11 years, 229 days KANU
4 Mwai Kibaki
(1931–2022) 		14 October 1978 24 March 1988 9 years, 162 days KANU
5 Josephat Karanja
(1931–1994) 		24 March 1988 1 May 1989 1 year, 38 days KANU
6 George Saitoti
(1945–2012) 		1 May 1989 8 January 1998 8 years, 252 days KANU
3 April 1999 30 August 2002 3 years, 149 days KANU
7 Musalia Mudavadi
(born 1960) 		4 November 2002 3 January 2003 60 days KANU
8 Michael Kijana Wamalwa
(1944–2003) 		3 January 2003 23 August 2003[†] 232 days NARC
9 Moody Awori
(born 1928) 		25 September 2003 9 January 2008 4 years, 106 days NARC / PNU
10 Kalonzo Musyoka
(born 1953) 		9 January 2008 9 April 2013 5 years, 90 days ODM–K
Deputy President of Kenya
11 William Ruto
(born 1966) 		9 April 2013 13 September 2022 9 years, 157 days Jubilee
12 Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua
(born 1965) 		13 September 2022 Incumbent 1 year, 233 days United Democratic Alliance

See also

References

  1. ^ Today, Business (18 May 2017). "Top earners: President Uhuru and Deputy President Faruk Abdallah salaries". ((cite web)): |first= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ Article 147 of the Constitution of Kenya
  3. ^ a b "'From Saitoti to Mudavadi': Vice Presidents who served under Moi".
  4. ^ "Former Presidents | The Presidency". Archived from the original on 14 July 2018.
  5. ^ "William Ruto gets a taste of power as Acting President". 3 July 2020.
  6. ^ "148. Election and swearing in of Deputy President - Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC)". www.klrc.go.ke. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  7. ^ "147. Functions of the Deputy President - Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC)". www.klrc.go.ke. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
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