NAIROBI: Lawmakers in Kenya have voted to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for abuse of office. The impeachment motion on Tuesday accused the 59-year-old deputy to President William Ruto of corruption, insubordination, undermining the government and practising ethnically divisive politics, among a host of other charges.

Kenya's Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua was a scandal-tainted political novice when he rode an anti-establishment wave to become deputy president -- only to now face impeachment just two years after taking office.

Kenyan lawmakers on Tuesday voted to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for abuse of office in an unprecedented political drama that has transfixed the nation.

Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua vowed to fight impeachment proceedings to the end, ahead of a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday where he stands accused of enriching himself, stirring ethnic hatred and undermining the government.

He said the move to impeach him was linked to tensions with President William Ruto. The unprecedented impeachment motion passed in the National Assembly, with 281 out of 349 members voting in favor, exceeding the required two-thirds majority.

Kenya's parliament was set to vote on Tuesday on impeaching Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in a political drama that has exposed a rift in the governing party. If impeached, Gachagua would become the first deputy president to be removed in this way since the possibility was introduced in Kenya's revised 2010 constitution.