UPDATE - Kenyan court halts appointment of Interior Minister Kindiki as new deputy president

UPDATES WITH COURT RULING, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; REMOVES RUNUP TO PARLIAMENTARY VOTE

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) – Despite Kenyan lawmakers confirming President William Ruto's nominee for deputy president on Friday, a court in the capital Nairobi halted the appointment.

The Kenyan High Court ruled on an urgent petition challenging Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki’s nomination.

It said all proceedings related to Kindiki's appointment were barred until next Thursday, when the case will be heard.

Ruto early Friday nominated Kindiki as his new deputy president following the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua.

The announcement was delivered to parliament by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, initiating the process to fill the country's second-highest office.

“Today in the morning, I received a message from the president regarding the nomination of Professor Kithure Kindiki to fill the vacancy which has occurred in the office of the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya,” Wetangula said.

Under Kenya’s Constitution, the president must nominate a replacement within 14 days of a vacancy in the deputy president’s office. The National Assembly has up to 60 days to vote on the nomination after receiving it.

Kindiki’s nomination comes just hours after Gachagua was removed from office in a historic Senate vote, where he was found guilty of corruption, abuse of office, and inciting ethnic divisions.

A close ally of Ruto, Kindiki has served as interior minister and is expected to bring stability to the administration following Gachagua’s ouster, once he takes office.