Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will know tomorrow if the court will halt the Senate from debating a motion seeking his impeachment. The Senate is scheduled to begin the impeachment trial on Wednesday, with both the National Assembly and the Deputy President allotted five hours each to present their cases before a final vote.
Through his legal team, Gachagua mounted a strong defense, urging the court to issue an order preventing the Senate from proceeding with the impeachment. Lawyer Paul Muite argued that Gachagua had not been given a fair chance to respond to the allegations against him, a violation of the principle of public participation.
Muite further contended that the public’s input was inadequately considered when the National Assembly returned the public participation data. He claimed that the evaluation of this data was incomplete, undermining the process. He also cited independent opinion polls indicating that only 7% of Kenyans supported the Deputy President’s impeachment, with a significant portion advocating for the removal of both the President and Deputy President.
On the other hand, the Senate, represented by lawyer Peter Wanyama, accused Gachagua of “forum shopping” by filing similar cases in different courts in an attempt to block the impeachment. Wanyama argued that the National Assembly had already debated the motion and met the constitutional threshold of two-thirds support to proceed with the impeachment. He emphasized that it would not be in the public interest for the court to disrupt this process after the Assembly had reached a decision.
Wanyama urged the court to dismiss Gachagua’s application and allow the Senate to continue with the impeachment trial as planned.
The court’s ruling on whether the Senate can proceed with the impeachment will be delivered tomorrow.
