The High Court is set to rule today (Tuesday) on whether to halt the Senate’s impeachment trial of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, following last week’s successful impeachment vote by the National Assembly. The Senate is scheduled to begin the trial on Wednesday, with both the National Assembly and the Deputy President being allotted five hours each to present their arguments before senators cast their votes on the motion.
Gachagua, through his lawyer Paul Muite, argued before Justice Chacha Mwita that for public participation to be meaningful, he should have been given a chance to respond to the allegations against him. Muite contended that Gachagua was not provided with this opportunity at any constituency or county level during the public consultations. As a result, the public only heard the accusations but not Gachagua’s side of the story.
Citing independent opinion polls, Muite stated that only 7% of Kenyans supported the impeachment, while the vast majority believed both the president and deputy president should face impeachment. He further noted that 93% of respondents were against removing Gachagua specifically. Muite urged the court to issue an injunction stopping the Senate from debating the impeachment.
On the other hand, Senate lawyers Paul Nyamodi and Peter Wanyama argued that the court should not interfere with the National Assembly’s decision, which had been reached by more than two-thirds of the MPs as required by the constitution.
They insisted that the National Assembly found sufficient grounds for Gachagua’s removal, and the court should not overturn that decision. Nyamodi also accused the Deputy President of “forum shopping” and called for the dismissal of his application to allow the Senate trial to proceed.
