Gachagua to face accusers in Parliament as court declines to stop impeachment process

By Peter Ochieng

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s bid to get reprieve in the corridors of justice as his impeachment process gathers pace, has hit a wall.

On Monday, the High Court for the second time declined to grant orders stopping the impeachment proceedings, against the former Mathira Member of Parliament (MP).

The matter was mentioned before Justice Bahati Mwamuye, who directed the matter filed by former United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Cleopas Malalah, be placed beforePresiding Judge of the High Court Chacha Mwita for further directions.

This comes as the National Assembly applied to have all matters challenging the impeachment process consolidated.

"There are so far before the High Court in Nairobi and other stations across the country thirteen (13) Petitions all challenging the removal by impeachment of H.E Rigathi Gachagua as the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya," reads the application in part.

Meanwhile, the Deputy President will appear in person on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday, to defend himself against 11 grounds for his proposed removal from office.

According to Victor Swanya, one of Gachagua’s key lawyers, the second in command is ready to face his accusers, head on.

“We are ready to face the Deputy President’s accusers and his excellency Rigathi Gachagua will be in the National Assembly in person on Tuesday,” he said as quoted by the Star.

“As the legal team, we have done our part and prepared a solid and concrete response to every charge by the DP’s accusers,” he added.

Gachagua’s team consists of over 20 lawyers. The Deputy President has been allocated 2 hours, from 5pm to 7 pm to defend himself against the 11 charges.

He has the options of appearing in person, being represented by his lawyers or failing to appear.

However, his absence, if he chooses not to appear, will not stop legislatures from processing the impeachment motion tabled by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse on Tuesday last week.