Justice Chacha Mwita delivered the ruling on Tuesday, October 15, dismissing Gachagua’s petition that sought to block the Senate from acting on the National Assembly’s resolution passed on October 8.
The High Court has refused to issue conservatory orders barring the Senate from moving ahead with debating the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Justice Chacha Mwita delivered the ruling on Tuesday, October 15, dismissing Gachagua’s petition that sought to block the Senate from acting on the National Assembly’s resolution passed on October 8.
Mwita opined that the Constitution has delegated the impeachment process to Parliament, and the court must show prudence in meddling with it.
The DP, through his legal team, had filed a last-minute application under a certificate of urgency to prevent Parliament’s trial chamber from considering the ouster motion.
Inside the Kenyan Senate Chambers. /SENATE KENYA
Gachagua’s petition, filed last week, argued that the impeachment motion was flawed and deviated from the original accusations against him. He requested a conservatory order to stop the Senate hearing, insisting, “Pending the hearing and determination of the substantive petition herein, a conservatory order should be issued restraining and prohibiting the Senate from proceeding with the impeachment hearing.”
The Deputy President contended that the motion amounted to a “vicarious assault” rather than a legitimate inquiry, alleging that the proceedings were marred by intimidation and undue influence on MPs. He accused the National Assembly of rushing the process to avoid judicial oversight, thus undermining constitutional principles.
Gachagua’s legal team criticised the impeachment as a personal attack on him and his family, claiming that the accusations did not meet the threshold of gross misconduct. He also argued that the motion violated the legal doctrine of exhaustion, asserting that alternative remedies should have been explored before resorting to impeachment.
However, Justice Mwita ruled that there was no basis to halt the Senate’s proceedings, noting that the court could not interfere with the constitutional mandate of Parliament. As it stands, Gachagua’s fate is set to be decided on Wednesday, October 16, and Thursday, October 17, when he faces the Senate.
Even before the High Court’s ruling, the Senate through Speaker Amason Kingi on Monday, October 14 affirmed that no court orders could stop Parliament from fulfilling its constitutional duties.
“Any injunction interfering with the work of Parliament has no effect on Parliament in the exercise of its constitutional functions,” Kingi stated, reaffirming the Senate’s readiness to proceed with the debate.
Efforts to derail the impeachment are nonetheless intensifying, with 26 cases now filed in court. The petitions, including one from Gachagua himself, challenge the legality of the National Assembly’s vote endorsing his removal, but Kingi made it clear that the Senate would move forward, regardless of the mounting legal battles.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Martha Koome named a bench of three judges who will hear and determine petitions filed by Gachagua in a last resort to save him from certain impeachment, with chances of a repeat by the National Assembly last Tuesday looking more likely at the Senate.
When it comes to voting, Senators will vote on every one of the 11 charges against him separately, and should at least two-thirds of all the Senators find him guilty of even one, they will uphold the impeachment from the National Assembly.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua speaking at the National Assembly on October 8, 2024. /PARLIAMENT KENYA