Lawyers seek removal of Gachagua's supplementary affidavit in impeachment case

The respondents told the three-judge bench that the affidavit, filed on Wednesday, raises new matters which they say could significantly affect the submissions already placed before the court.

According to the respondents, they only had the opportunity to review the affidavit after it had been filed and are of the view that it introduces issues that were never canvassed before the Senate during the impeachment proceedings.

The lawyers further argued that the affidavit contains allegations that President William Ruto personally called a hospital to inquire about Gachagua’s health, claims they insist require rebuttal and verification.

They urged the court to subject the affidavit to a document examiner and argued that the President himself would need to confirm the authenticity of the allegations contained in the document.

“We ask that this affidavit be expunged from the record before you,” the respondents submitted.

The respondents also questioned the timing of the affidavit, noting that it was filed one and a half years after the alleged events without any explanation as to why Gachagua delayed in presenting the evidence.

They argued that the affidavit was introduced after “missing several opportunities” to place the evidence before the relevant bodies, including the Senate during the impeachment hearings.

According to the respondents, the court proceedings are intended to determine the legality of the actions of Parliament and the Senate, and therefore, the court should only consider material that was presented before those institutions at the time.

“The affidavit was never placed before the Senate, and the deponent did not appear before the Senate,” the lawyers submitted.

They questioned how Gachagua could seek to rely on evidence before the court that the Senate itself never had the benefit of considering during the impeachment process.