Deputy President of Kenya
| Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya | |
|---|---|
| Naibu Rais wa Jamhuri ya Kenya | |
| Style | His Excellency/Her Excellency |
| Residence | The Deputy President's Mansion |
| Seat | Nairobi |
| Appointer | Direct popular vote or, if vacant, President |
| Term length | Five years, renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Kenya |
| Inaugural holder | Jaramogi Oginga Odinga |
| Formation | 12 December 1964 |
| Salary | KSh.14,724,000.00 annual[1] |
| Website | www.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] The current deputy president of Kenya is Kithure Kindiki. He has been serving at this position since 1st November 2024.
History
[edit]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
[edit]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:
- The next President-elect is sworn in.
- Upon assuming the office of the President; or
- Resignation, death or being removed from office under the conditions provided by the Constitution
Responsibilities
[edit]The following is a summary of the responsibilities of the Deputy President as provided in the Constitution:[7]
- Serves as the President's principal assistant and deputises for the President in the performance of the responsibilities of the President.
- The Deputy President acts as the President if the sitting President is absent, temporarily incapacitated or whenever the President assigns this responsibility; and
- Performing any other responsibility assigned by the Constitution and the President.
List of officeholders
[edit]- Political parties
- Symbols
† 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 | 30 November 1966 | 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 | 1 November 2024 | 2 years, 48 days | UDA | |
| 13 | Abraham Kithure Kindiki (born 1972) |
1 November 2024 | 8 days | UDA | ||
See also
[edit]- Politics of Kenya
- President of Kenya
- Prime Minister of Kenya
- List of colonial governors and administrators of Kenya
References
[edit]- ^ "Top earners: President Uhuru and Deputy President Faruk Abdallah salaries". 18 May 2017.
- ^ Article 147 of the Constitution of Kenya
- ^ a b "'From Saitoti to Mudavadi': Vice Presidents who served under Moi".
- ^ "Former Presidents | The Presidency". Archived from the original on 14 July 2018.
- ^ "William Ruto gets a taste of power as Acting President". 3 July 2020.
- ^ "148. Election and swearing in of Deputy President - Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC)". www.klrc.go.ke. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ "147. Functions of the Deputy President - Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC)". www.klrc.go.ke. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
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