DP Gachagua assembles Paul Muite-led team of 20 lawyers to defend him against impeachment

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has assembled a battery of 20 advocates including senior counsels to defend him both in parliament and at the courts beginning next week when the House will consider his proposed removal from office.

The team led by senior counsel Paul Muite, has been meeting with Gachagua to mount a formidable defence against the 11 grounds levelled against their client in the impeachment motion.

This even as Gachagua has been missing in action for about four days; both online and offline. His last public engagement was the address to the Kalenjin nation via radio on the eve of the tabling of his impeachment motion.

The DP, who knows too well the magnitude of his case, has put together a list of at least 20 lawyers, who have already hit the ground running and now say their client is rearing to go.

One of Gachagua’s lawyers, Victor Swanya, said: “We have Senior Counsel Paul Muite, he’s the one who is leading us. We have counsels Tom Macharia, Amos Kisilu. Elisha Ongoya and others. We have looked through the points, the accusations of the deputy president, and we’re prepared to deal with them.”

Muite, a seasoned lawyer with legal and political experience spanning over 30 years, told Citizen TV that his team is already examining the fine print on documents submitted.

The legal team is said to have met on Saturday afternoon to strategize before Tuesday when Gachagua will for the first time appear before legislators.

Muite, who successfully defended former Embu Governor Martin Wambora against an impeachment motion, argued then that there was no proper public participation before the removal of the Governor then.

Gachagua’s team hopes to ride on this same ground, which they have sustained since the impeachment motion was tabled.

“You’re giving a notice at night, and people are waking up now about what is to be done today. How fair is that? Notice should be reasonable and should be between 4-7 days,” added Swanya.

The DP also seeks to force the Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula and his deputy Gladys Boss to recuse themselves from the case, alleging that they have taken sides on the matter.

“For the sake of justice, I think the two principal officers should recuse themselves, as this debate is coming up,” noted Swanya.

And as the debate on whether or not he should resign from office for self-preservation rages on, Gachagua’s team says he is determined to face his accusers.

Article 75, 3 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 bars a State officer removed from office from ever holding any other State office.