NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's High Court on Tuesday rejected an application by the deputy president's lawyers to stop the senate from debating an impeachment motion against him after parliament voted to remove him from office last week.
Justice Chacha Mwita ruled that parliament will be allowed to proceed with its constitutional mandate and the court won't “interfere.”
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's impeachment motion was approved by a 281-44 vote in parliament last week and forwarded to the senate, which will begin hearings on Wednesday. Gachagua is facing impeachment over corruption and other irregularities, including allegations that he supported anti-government protests in June. He denies all the charges against him.
Under the Kenyan Constitution, the removal from office is automatic if approved by both chambers, though Gachagua can challenge the action in court — something he has said he would do.
The chief justice on Monday approved a three-judge panel to hear six petitions filed against the impeachment process.
The debate surrounding his fate has extended beyond parliament — supporters and opponents of the motion clashed last week in public forums after the ruling alliance brought the motion before parliament.
President William Ruto has yet to publicly comment about the impeachment, but is on record in the earlier days of his presidency saying that he wouldn't publicly humiliate his deputy, alluding to the troubled relationship he had with his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, during their second term in office.
The senate requires a two-thirds majority to approve the impeachment motion. If approved, it would be the first time that a sitting deputy president is impeached in Kenya.
FILE - Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua gestures to the crowd at the swearing-in ceremony for Kenya's new president William Ruto, at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi, Kenya Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
FILE - Kenya's Deputy President-Elect Rigathi Gachagua addresses the media, in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua addresses the media, in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are hanging near their records Tuesday after several big banks delivered stronger profits for the summer than analysts expected, while the price of crude oil tumbled again.
The S&P 500 was up 0.1% in early trading, a day after setting an all-time high for the 46th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 256 points, or 0.6%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.
Bank of America and Goldman Sachs both rose rose at least 1% after reporting stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts feared, while Charles Schwab jumped 8.4% after likewise delivering better profit than expected thanks in parts to more customers opening brokerage accounts.
Walgreens Boots Alliance was another winner, up 10.7%, after topping analysts’ forecasts. The drugstore chain also said it will close about 1,200 locations over the next three years as it tries to turn around its struggling U.S. business.
Chipmaker Wolfspeed jumped 35.8% to trim its loss for the year to 64.5% after the Biden-Harris administration announced Tuesday that it plans to provide up to $750 million in direct funding to the company. The money will support its new silicon carbide factory in North Carolina that makes the wafers used in advanced computer chips.
They helped offset a drop of 2.8% for Exxon Mobil and sharp losses for other energy companies after oil prices tumbled more than 4%. A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, has fallen back below $74 from more than $80 last week for a couple reasons.
China’s flagging economy has raised concerns about weaker-than-expected demand for crude, which could lead to a buildup of too much oil supplies in inventories. Worries have also receded about Israel possibly attacking Iranian oil facilities as part of its pending retaliation against Iran’s missile attack early this month. Iran is a major producer of crude, and the worry beyond such a hit to supplies was that an expanding war could draw in other big oil exporters.
Also dragging on the U.S. stock market was UnitedHealth Group. The insurer fell 9.5% despite reporting better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It lowered the top end of its forecasted range for profit over the full year.
In the bond market, trading of Treasurys resumed after a holiday on Monday, and yields slipped following a weaker-than-expected report on manufacturing in New York state.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.05% from 4.10% late Friday. Manufacturing has been one of the areas of the U.S. economy hurt most by high interest rates caused by the Federal Reserve in its efforts to slow the economy enough to stamp out high inflation.
Now, though, the Fed has begun cutting interest rates as it’s widened its focus to include keeping the economy humming instead of just fighting high inflation.
Recent reports showing the U.S. economy remains stronger than expected have also raised optimism that the Fed can pull off a perfect landing where it gets inflation down to 2% without causing a recession that many had thought would be necessary.
In stock markets abroad, Chinese stocks fell sharply as doubts continue about whether the government will offer enough fiscal stimulus to prop up the world’s second-largest economy.
Stocks in Shanghai fell 2.5%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 3.7%.
Indexes were mixed elsewhere in Asia and in Europe.
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
The Charging Bull statue in New York's Financial District is shown on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
FILE - People pass the entrance for the Wall Street subway station on Sept. 2, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE -A passerby moves past an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index and stock prices outside a securities building Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)
