International

Parliament approves the dismissal of Kenya’s vice president on a historic day

The Senate of Kenya (Upper Chamber of Parliament) approved this Thursday the dismissal of the vice president of the country, Rigathi Gachagua, an unprecedented act in the history of the African country.

After two days of impeachment, the senators voted in favor of the impeachment (as the impeachment process is known in English) against the vice president, who could not defend himself in person before the parliamentarians because he was admitted to a hospital in Nairobi for intense chest pains.

How was the motion for the dismissal of the vice president of Kenya?

The motion had to be supported by at least two-thirds (45) of the 67 members of the Senate who supported at least one of the eleven charges that weighed on Gachagua.

Thus, 45 senators or more voted in favor of five of the eleven charges, which included corruption, promotion of ethnic discrimination, insubordination, intimidation and humiliation towards public officials.

“As a result, his Excellency Rigathi Gachagua ceases to hold office,” said the president of the Upper House, Amason Kingi.

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

But the vice president also received the express support of some senators.

“This divorce that the president is looking for, he will get it. But it will be painful, harmful, catastrophic, it will have victims,” said legislator John Methu in reference to Kenyan President William Ruto, whose relationship with Gachagua had been rarefied for months.

On the 8th, the National Assembly (Lower House) already expressed itself in favor of the process of dismissal of Gachagua, 59 years old.

The dismissal ends his political career – he has been vice president since 2022 and, from 2017 to 2022, he was a deputy of the Assembly – since he will not be able to occupy any other public office in the future and, in addition, he will lose all the benefits derived from having held the vice presidency of Kenya.

Sudden hospitalization of Gachagua

The vote culminated in a dramatic day marked by the sudden hospitalization of the dismissed vice president, who is “stable,” according to doctors, adding that he will remain under observation between 48 and 72 hours.

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

“It came with chest pains and when you get to the hospital with that, our first concern is if it has something to do with the heart and our job is to make sure that you don’t have the possibility of suffering a heart attack,” Karen Hospital’s chief cardiologist Dancan Gikonyo told reporters.

The setback caused the temporary suspension of the session in the Upper House, which resumed the impeachment shortly after 17:00 local time (14:00 GMT).

The session, the second debate in the Senate after the one held this Wednesday, was resumed after a request from Gachagua’s lawyer, Paul Muite.

Muite asked for a postponement of the impeachment until next Tuesday, so that the vice president could stand in person and defend himself before the Senate, but the president of the Upper House, Amason Kingi, pointed to this Saturday as an alternative date.

However, the senators refused in a vote to postpone the process until Saturday and decided to continue this Thursday, before which Muite and his legal team withdrew in protest.

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

The procedure with green light

The procedure already received the green light on October 8 with a large majority in the National Assembly (Lower House), where 281 of the 349 deputies voted to move forward, after a marathon session in which the vice president intervened.

“In the absence of an active investigation by any Kenyan investigative agency, I believe that there can be no serious reason to believe that I have committed any crime,” Gachagua said at the time, denying all the accusations against him.

The debate in the Senate could begin this Wednesday after two courts rejected urgent appeals imposed by the vice president to stop the process.

According to local media, Vice President Gachagua has filed up to 26 lawsuits challenging the legality and the process of his dismissal.

One of the main arguments against impeachment is the lack of significant public participation.

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

International

Chile declares state of catastrophe as wildfires rage in Ñuble and Biobío

Wildland firefighting crews are battling 19 forest fires across the country, 12 of them concentrated in the Ñuble and Biobío regions, located about 500 kilometers south of Santiago.

“In light of the severe fires currently underway, I have decided to declare a state of catastrophe in the regions of Ñuble and Biobío. All resources are now available,” the president announced in a post on X.

Authorities have not yet released an official report on possible casualties or damage to homes.

According to images broadcast by local television, the fires have reached populated areas, particularly in the municipalities of Penco and Lirquén, in the Biobío region, which together are home to nearly 60,000 people. Burned vehicles were also reported on several streets.

“The Penco area and the entire Lirquén sector are the most critical zones and where the largest number of evacuations have taken place. We estimate that around 20,000 people have been evacuated,” said Alicia Cebrián, director of the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred), in an interview with Mega TV.

20250501_mh_noexigencia_dui_728x90

In recent years, forest fires have had a severe impact on the country, especially in the central-southern regions.

On February 2, 2024, multiple wildfires broke out simultaneously around the city of Viña del Mar, located 110 kilometers northwest of Santiago. Those fires resulted in 138 deaths, according to updated figures from the public prosecutor’s office, and left approximately 16,000 people affected, based on official data.

International

Former South Korean President Yoon sentenced to five years in prison

Former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison for obstruction of justice and other charges, concluding the first in a series of trials stemming from his failed attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.

The sentence is shorter than the 10-year prison term sought by prosecutors against the 65-year-old conservative former leader, whose move against Parliament triggered a major political crisis that ultimately led to his removal from office.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, is still facing seven additional trials. One of them, on charges of insurrection, could potentially result in the death penalty.

On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled on one of the multiple secondary cases linked to the affair, which plunged the country into months of mass protests and political instability.

International

U.S. deportation flight returns venezuelans to Caracas after Maduro’s ouster

A new flight carrying 231 Venezuelans deported from the United States arrived on Friday at the airport serving Caracas, marking the first such arrival since the military operation that ousted and captured President Nicolás Maduro.

On January 3, U.S. forces bombed the Venezuelan capital during an incursion in which Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured. Both are now facing narcotrafficking charges in New York.

This was the first U.S.-flagged aircraft transporting migrants to land in Venezuela since the military action ordered by President Donald Trump, who has stated that he is now in charge of the country.

The aircraft departed from Phoenix, Arizona, and landed at Maiquetía International Airport, which serves the Venezuelan capital, at around 10:30 a.m. local time (14:30 GMT), according to AFP reporters on the ground.

The deportees arrived in Venezuela under a repatriation program that remained in place even during the height of the crisis between the two countries, when Maduro was still in power. U.S. planes carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued to arrive throughout last year, despite the military deployment ordered by Trump.