The impeachment of Kenya's deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua, is expected to sail through both houses of Parliament, after multiple court bids to stop it failed.

Gachagua is accused of undermining the government, involvement in corruption, insubordination and practicing ethnically divisive politics, among a slew of other charges. Some 291 members of Parliament, well beyond the 117 minimum required, have backed a motion to remove him from office.

Many political analysts believe the spiraling cost of living crisis, deeply unpopular tax hikes and recent deadly youth-led protests were the catalyst for the unprecedented move and the turmoil in President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza coalition.

"Politically, it appears these Gen Z demonstrations have generated this heat," Martin Oloo, a Nairobi-based analyst, told DW. "Political knives have been drawn to separate the deputy from the president."

Nerima Wako-Ojiwa, director of the youth civic tech organization Siasa Place, said when forming the Kenya Kwanza coalition, many believed Ruto would choose Kithure Kindiki, the current Cabinet Secretary, as his running mate.

"I think it started off tense. Gachagua was someone who was bringing resources and numbers in terms of communities that he belongs to. But after the protests it escalated," she told DW.

Gachagua, a 59-year-old businessman, weathered corruption scandals and links to the country's former authoritarian regime to win a closely fought election as Ruto's running mate in 2022.

But in recent weeks, he complained of being sidelined by his superior, amid accusations that he supported the anti-government protests that erupted in........

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