Lawyers defend Gachagua impeachment process, say public participation was fully conducted

The court heard that the role of the public in such proceedings is to influence the process and not to directly vote on the outcome, arguing that the Constitution mandates elected Members of Parliament to make the final decision on behalf of citizens.

“The role of the public is to influence the process. They do not vote. They assist those who vote to make the decision. In this case, it is those who elected the MPs, and it is the MPs who take the decision to vote, and that is the expectation of our Constitution,” the bench was told.

Lawyers representing the National Assembly argued that the impeachment proceedings were time-bound and had to be conducted within strict constitutional timelines.

The court further heard that Parliament undertook public participation across the country by publishing notices in both English and Swahili in various media platforms to invite members of the public to submit their views.

“The grounds were set out in detail and also in the publications sent out to the public. There were public hearings in every county headquarters,” the court was told.

The submissions were made in response to arguments by Gachagua that the impeachment process was unconstitutional due to an alleged lack of meaningful public participation.