Contents
Ousted Kenyan Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua today appeared in court with his battery of lawyers to challenge the impeachment motion against him. The DP, who was impeached by the Senate less than a week ago, filed nearly 30 cases looking to defend his post. On the other hand, the Ruto administration, through the Attorney General, sought to clear the stay orders that barred the swearing-in of newly-appointed deputy president-elect, Prof. Kithure Kindiki. Here is how the proceedings happened as well as other impeached DP Gachagua latest news.
Gachagua Appears Before 3-Judge Bench to Challenge Impeachment by the Senate
Ousted Kenyan DP, Rigathi Gachagua appeared before a 3-judge bench today to listen to a case where the Ruto administration was asking to have the stay orders issued against Kindiki’s appointed be dispensed with. The bench was to judge on cases that the DP and his team had presented in the Kerugoya Law Courts, and other jurisdictions.
The Kerugoya case resulted in the stay orders against swearing in Kithure Kindiki. The kink, however, is that they were appearing before a 3-judge bench empaneled by the Deputy Chief Justice, Philomena Mwilu, and not the Chief Justice, Martha Koome, as required by law.
An Unlawfully Empaneled 3-Judge Bench?
Impeached DP Gachagua’s lawyers, led by Senior Counsel Paul Muite were keen to first find out whether it is CJ Koome that had empaneled the bench, and when it was revealed that it is the DCJ Mwilu, they protested. The team of lawyers, even before learning the 3-judge bench was Philomena Mwilu’s doing, had already declared that they appear “in protest”.
Law By Night
The lawyers had questioned when the CJ had been reached by the case files, preceding her alleged constitution of the 3-judge bench. When the lead judge told them that the cases had been filed and transmitted online, the lawyers sought to also question why the case was listened to on a Saturday, last week. Saturday is not an official working day in Kenya.
Senior Counsel Paul Muite: When did the Deputy Chief Justice convene a bench in the middle of the night? We are not only addressing the removal of the Deputy President, but also that of future Presidents #GachaguaImpeachment pic.twitter.com/SKuZ8AmXF1
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) October 22, 2024
A Filibuster?
Senior Counsel Muite and his team remained adamant that the judges must determine whether their panel was legally constituted (or empaneled) first. Gachagua’s team had also made an application to have the judges recuse themselves, insisting that the hearing of this matter could only follow the determination on whether the Deputy Chief Justice had the authority to constitute the bench.
We are here to defend the Constitution of Kenya – Justice Murima
— Cyprian, Is Nyakundi (@C_NyaKundiH) October 22, 2024
The government side, on the other hand, accused Gachagua’s side of causing drama and “beating around the bush” on the issue, as if they intended to cause unnecessary delay or a “filibuster”. Gachagua’s lawyer Elisha Ongoya, was keen to challenge Prof. Tom Ojienda’s filibuster remarks asking that he withdraw before the court proceeds.
Follow the latest on the impeached DP Gachagua impeachment proceedings.
