Sawt Falasteen - Kenya court hears deputy president's impeachment challenge

But the session was held up by wrangling as both he and President William Ruto challenged -- for different reasons -- the court's ability to hear the case.

The three-judge panel later adjourned the hearing until 3 pm ((1200 GMT) on Wednesday.

In a fast-moving and sometimes confusing drama, the High Court in Nairobi on Friday had ordered that Gachagua's impeachment be put on hold.

Its ruling came just minutes after parliament had approved Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki to replace Gachagua as Ruto's deputy.

Gachagua was impeached by the Senate on Thursday on five out of 11 charges against him, including stirring ethnic divisions and undermining the judiciary.

The impeachment -- the first time in Kenya that a deputy president has been removed from office in this manner -- is the culmination of a public falling-out between Gachagua and Ruto.

- 'Monumental constitutional issues' -

The embattled 59-year-old has denied all the allegations, and his legal team swiftly launched an appeal alleging the process had been unfair and rushed.

"The petition and application raise monumental constitutional issues," the High Court said in its ruling on Friday that blocked Kindiki from taking office.

Gachagua was in the packed courtroom for Tuesday's hearing and security was heightened at the court compound.

His legal team however challenged the make-up of the three-judge bench, protesting that it had not been constituted by Kenya's Chief Justice Martha Koome but by her deputy.

Responding to a separate petition also challenging the impeachment, Ruto objected that the High Court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case, saying it should be the preserve of the Supreme Court because it covered constitutional issues.

- 'Vicious' -

Gachagua had been admitted to hospital with chest pains shortly before he was due to testify before the Senate but the upper house rejected an appeal by his lawyers for a delay.

After being discharged, Gachagua on Sunday lashed out at his boss as "vicious" and claimed there had been attempts on his life in the past, including by poisoning his food.

The powerful multi-millionaire businessman, known as "Riggy G", also said his security had been withdrawn and his entire staff sent on compulsory leave.

Ruto -- who had chosen Gachagua as his running mate for the August 2022 election -- has not yet given any public comment on the impeachment.

Analysts have suggested that Gachagua's ouster could help consolidate Ruto's grip on power after it was shaken by anti-government demonstrations earlier this year, the biggest test of his two-year presidency.

On Sunday, he called for the defence of "national values and principles of governance every day", without making a direct reference to his impeached deputy.

Gachagua had helped Ruto to victory in the closely fought election race against veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga by rallying support from the crucial Mount Kenya region.

"I am shocked by how vicious a man I helped to be president, believed in and was persecuted when I supported, could be so vicious against me," Gachagua told reporters on Sunday.

"If anything happens to me or my family, President William Ruto must be held to account," he said.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Monday had asked Gachagua to make a statement to police about what it described as "serious allegations" about attempts on his life.

R.Halabi--SF-PST