Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has presented a list of demands before the court as the hearing of his impeachment case continues.
Appearing before a three-judge bench on Thursday, Gachagua’s legal team argued that his removal from office was unconstitutional and procedurally flawed, urging the court to grant several declarations and orders in his favour.
The lawyers want the court to declare that the impeachment process violated Articles 10, 47, 50, 118 and 145 of the Constitution. They argued that the public participation exercises conducted on October 4 and 5, 2024, failed to meet the constitutional threshold for meaningful public participation.
According to the legal team, the Senate also failed to ensure adequate public participation, rendering the entire impeachment process unconstitutional.
The lawyers further argued that the appointment of a select committee by the Senate is mandatory during the impeachment of a President or Deputy President. They told the court that proceeding without such a committee made the Senate process unconstitutional.
“Standing Order 64(2) should be declared unconstitutional since it provided timelines not compatible with constitutional requirements,” one of the lawyers submitted.
Gachagua’s team is also seeking orders to quash the National Assembly resolution passed on October 8, 2024, as well as the Senate resolution adopted on October 17, 2024, which upheld his impeachment.
In addition, the former Deputy President is seeking compensation for lost remuneration, damages and other losses arising from what he describes as an unlawful removal from office.
The petition is being heard by Justices Erick Ogolla, Anthony Mrima and Freda Mugambi, who are expected to issue directions on pending applications and hear arguments on the substantive petition.
Gachagua became the first Deputy President in Kenya’s history to be impeached in October 2024. Since then, he has maintained that his removal was politically motivated and has alleged that bribes were solicited in both the National Assembly and the Senate to support the impeachment motion.
