DP Gachagua in court to stop Senate from hearing his impeachment motion

Besieged Deputy President Geoffrey Rigathi Gachagua is yet again in the corridors of justice, seeking to stop the Parliament’s trial chamber from considering his ouster motion next week.

In an application filed under a certificate of urgency, Gachagua lists at least 10 grounds he believes were used to aid what he terms a shambolic, unfair and a vicarious assault on him.

Gachagua, through his lead counsel Paul Muite, argues that the charges supported by 282 MPs in the National Assembly were unsupported allegations, hearsay and outright lies.

He also states that the National Assembly did not do meaningful public participation before the tabling of his impeachment, and that members debated and voted on the motion on grounds which were not set out in the motion.

The DP argues that MPs were coerced, intimidated and subjected to undue pressure to pass the motion, adding that the charges should have been about the Constitution and not about allegations of him undermining the President.

He concludes by stating that the ground on gross misconduct was trivialized, and fired back at National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula and his deputy, Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Boss for being players in a game they were refereeing.

It is on these grounds that Gachagua seeks to have Justice Chacha Mwita of the Milimani High Court dispense justice by giving orders prohibiting the Senate from proceeding with his impeachment hearing scheduled for next week.

The matter is expected in court on Monday, October 14. This will be Gachagua’s 24th attempt, either directly or through proxies, in court to stop his removal from office, with other efforts proving futile.

This as Chief Justice Martha Koome is expected to empanel a three-judge bench to hear five cases challenging the impeachment of the Deputy President.

The latest developments come as Senators get ready for a busy week ahead, with the DP set the face the trial chamber and defend himself on Thursday.

A programme drawn by the Senate Clerk, shows that DP Gachagua will on Thursday have four hours from 9am-1pm to present his evidence against the impeachment grounds and another session in the afternoon for cross-examination.

During the period, Gachagua’s lawyers will also have a chance to call witnesses to the stand, who he believes will help to save his job. His legal team says they have several witnesses lined up but did not disclose their names.

After his presentation, Senators will have a chance to question and seek clarifications from the DP, before ushering in his team to give their last submissions for an hour.

The National Assembly team will also have a similar period to give their closing remarks. The voting session is expected to kick off at around 7:30pm.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly team led by the mover of the motion, Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse, will also have equal time as that of the DP to prosecute their matter where several witnesses will be called to the stand.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, Secretary to the Cabinet Mercy Wanjau and former acting KEMSA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mulwa are lined up to defend the impeachment motion.