Being Kenya’s Deputy President (DP) comes with unique challenges, from navigating political dynamics to public scrutiny and balancing personal political ambitions.

The incumbent must walk a tightrope as they work on their political future.  

Before the 2010 Constitution, the Vice President (VP) was appointed by the President and could be removed at any time. Between 1964 and 2010, the VP served at the President’s pleasure. There was no job description or constitutionally provided functions for the office holder.

Following the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, a presidential candidate is required to have a running mate to vie jointly in one ticket.

Additionally, the Constitution now clearly stipulates the functions of the Deputy President in Article 147. The Deputy President shall be the principal assistant of the President, deputise the Head of State in the execution of his tasks, and perform other functions conferred by the Constitution or assigned by the President.

Even though the President does not appoint or sack the Deputy President, as was the case before the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, the President can decide to sideline the deputy in the day-to-day activities of running the government and appoint another person from the Cabinet to perform some of the DP’s functions.

This was evident during retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s second term in office when he made the then Interior Cabinet Secretary, Dr Fred Matiang’i, a super minister. He appointed him to chair a committee mandated to supervise all government projects, including the Jubilee government’s legacy programme, ‘The Big Four’ agenda.

Dr Matiang’i also chaired the National Development Implementation and Communication Committee and was considered President Kenyatta’s Mr-Fix-It.

At some point, the then-Deputy President William Ruto’s allies hit out at Dr Matiang’i over what they termed constant harassment of the DP and his point men in a bid to thwart his presidential bid.

Former President Kenyatta and Dr Ruto fell out following the 2018 handshake. Dr Ruto had countless times blamed the March 9, 2018, truce between President Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga for their political fallout.

During the run-up to the 2022 general election, the fallout between President Kenyatta and Dr Ruto was very evident. The Head of State had thrown all his weight behind Odinga instead of supporting his deputy, something political analysts at the time described as the rarest development in the practice of democracy anywhere in the world.  

The current scenario between President Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, mirrors Dr Ruto’s experience with Kenyatta, and the impeachment route appears to be the final nail in the coffin.

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga

The firebrand politician was Kenya’s first VP from 1964 to 1966. He deputised Kenya’s first president, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Many describe him as the country’s president who never was.  

Jaramogi resigned in 1966 when his ideologies clashed with those of the ruling party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU).

Joseph Murumbi

He was the second vice president and Africa’s private cultural collector, but he only stayed in that office for 120 days. He resigned after he sensed that he would be under siege. In his posthumous publication, ‘A Path Not Taken,’ Murumbi said he realised that people were exploiting Mzee Kenyatta’s age and taking advantage of him.

Daniel arap Moi

He took over as the VP from January 1967 to August 1978. During his tenure, he was the punching bag of what was then referred to as the Kiambu Mafia because he was closer to becoming president in case Mzee died in office. Eventually, that is what happened.

Mwai Kibaki

Mwai Kibaki is described as a gentleman of Kenyan politics. He served as vice president from October 1978 to March 1988. During his tenure, like his predecessor, Moi, he withstood disrespect from juniors and even took a demotion from the vice presidency to Minister for Health in 1988.

Dr Josephat Karanja  

Dr Josephat Njuguna Karanja is described as the stop-gap vice president. He served as vice president from March 1988 to May 1989. President Moi handpicked him to replace Mwai Kibaki, which hurt him and pitted the Kikuyu community from Nyeri against those from Kiambu. 

Prof. George Saitoti

A Professor of Mathematics, George Saitoti was first appointed VP by Moi in May 1989, a position he held until January 1998.

After the 1997 general election, President Moi held off picking a vice president despite opposition parties’ insistence that the position must be filled to avert the possibility of a constitutional crisis should anything happen to the President. He continued to ignore them until April 1999, when he re-appointed Prof. Saitoti via a roadside announcement in Limuru Town.

Prof. Saitoti remained fiercely loyal to President Moi despite facing some hostility from senior KANU officials and sometimes even from the President himself.

It is reported that he did not speak the Maa language fluently, and this did not help ease matters, as leaders from the Maasai community, among them William Ole Ntimama, went all out to try and depict him as a Kikuyu and, therefore, unqualified to lead the Maasai.

So fragile was Prof. Saitoti’s position that when the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Robert Ouko, was murdered in February 1990, Prof. Saitoti claimed there were plans to kill him as well.

Musalia Mudavadi

Musalia Mudavadi served for three months as vice president. He was appointed to the post in October 2002 to replace Prof. Saitoti, whom President Moi had sacked in a succession war after he chose Uhuru Kenyatta as his successor.

Mudavadi was Kenyatta’s running mate in the 2002 general election. However, Mudavadi lost that bid and his Sabatia Parliamentary seat.

Michael Kijana Wamalwa

Kijana Wamalwa’s ascent to the vice presidency was occasioned by the historic victory of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) in the 2002 general election. His charisma transcended tribal boundaries and ethnic chauvinism, and many saw in him Kibaki’s automatic successor.

However, President Kibaki did not assign Wamalwa a ministerial docket, eliciting mixed reactions among his supporters. Many were happy because President Kibaki had honoured a pre-election pact and named their son the vice president, but others had reservations about the ‘incomplete’ portfolio, which was without the Ministry of Home Affairs that had previously come with the vice presidency. As a result, they considered Wamalwa nothing more than a ceremonial VP.

He served as vice president between January 2003 and August 2003.

Moody Awori 

Moody Awori was Kenya’s VP from September 2003 to January 2008.

In 2004, there were some controversies surrounding Uncle Moody’s tenure in office and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), for the first time, spoke about it as its five Members of Parliament (MPs) told Ford Kenya Chairman Musikari Kombo to ‘stop dreaming’ of ever becoming a VP.

In response to the exchanges between Ford Kenya and the LDP MPs over the vice presidency, LDP Secretary General Joseph Kamotho said they were not interested in promoting divisive politics because it was not parties which were choosing a vice president.

Kalonzo Musyoka

Kalonzo Musyoka was President Kibaki’s term two assignee. He became vice president in January 2008 following the 2007 general election’s post-election violence (PEV) and served until April 2013.

Occupying the office at the time was not a walk in the park for Kalonzo. During his tenure, he was depicted as a hapless politician for whom the high office did not seem to offer any leverage in the race to succeed President Kibaki.