DP office’s online presence deleted amid court battle impeachment

The official online presence of the Office of Deputy President of Kenya has been deleted amidst the ongoing court battle challenging the removal of Rigathi Gachagua from the position last week.

While he is still legally regarded as the Deputy President pending determination by the courts, State agents in charge of managing the government’s online presence have erased anything that may still recognise him as such.

The official X handle of the DP’s office, which normally has a blue-tick verification mark as a sign of authenticity and authority of the account, no longer has it, exposing it to imposters.

It is unclear why the blue tick has disappeared, but it may be an indication the monthly subscription fee of about Sh2,000 charged by X to keep the mark has not been paid.

Several other government-affiliated accounts, including that of the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, have also lost the verification mark.

The mark is essential for informing users on the authenticity of posts put forth by the account, especially since Mr Gachagua has his own personal account that is separate and verified by X for free by virtue of his office.

X introduced the charges for verification of personal, company, and government office accounts, which were previously free, in July 2022 following the takeover by billionaire Elon Musk, retaining free verification only for notable government officials.

The DP’s office has been using the official account to post official engagements and activities of Mr Gachagua, including meetings with dignitaries, leaders, and diplomats and updates on the activities of the office.

The official handle was opened in March last year, after Mr Gachagua ascended to the office. He did not use the handle used by President William Ruto while he was still the office holder, indicating that should he be replaced, the next DP might also open their own official X handle.

Mr Gachagua’s personal account still has the verification mark, meaning X still recognises him as Kenya’s Deputy President.

Beyond social media, the government has also taken down all State-sponsored online pages associated with the DP’s office.

On the official State House website, the message “Whoops, that page is gone” greets you when you click on the ‘Office of the Deputy President’ tab on the navigation panel, indicating the page has been deleted.

The Cabinet’s page, which normally contains images, names, and biographies of the members of the State’s top decision-making organ, which included Rigathi Gachagua, has also been taken down.

Additionally, the official website of the Office of the Deputy President, which would normally be the one-stop point for all information about and communication from the second-in-command, has also been deleted.

“Office of the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya is currently under maintenance. We should be back shortly. Thank you for your patience,” reads a message on what used to be the website’s home page.

This is amidst an ongoing court case challenging Mr Gachagua’s removal from office by the Senate last week, in which the ousted DP’s legal team argued he was not given a fair trial and due process was not followed.

In a ruling last Friday, the high court stopped the process to replace Mr Gachagua, stalling the swearing-in of Kithure Kindiki who was nominated by President William Ruto and subsequently approved by parliament to replace him.