Embattled Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has been dealt another blow after the High Court on Monday, October 7, declined to issue interim orders to halt his impeachment motion.
The petition was filed by Cleophas Malala, former United Democratic Alliance (UDA) secretary general, who had moved to court seeking orders to block the impeachment motion against the DP.
High Court judge Bahati Mwamuye, however, declined to grant interim orders stopping the impeachment proceedings after Malala filed the petition for a second time.
The matter was mentioned before Justice Bahati Mwamuye, who issued directions for the matter filed by Cleopas Malalah be placed before the Presiding Judge of the High Court Chacha Mwita for further directions.
Malala, in his petition, argued that the composition of both the Senate and the National Assembly violated constitutional gender rules, as outlined in Articles 27(8) and 81(b) of the Kenyan Constitution, which mandate that no more than two-thirds of elective bodies be composed of the same gender.
At the same time, the National Assembly requested all matters challenging the impeachment process to be consolidated for interrogation by the Court to promote expeditious disposal of the Petitions.
"There are so far before the High Court in Nairobi and other stations across the country 13 petitions all challenging the removal by the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua as the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya," read the application in part.
On Thursday, the High Court declined to issue orders stopping public participation in a motion tabled before the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the deputy president is expected to appear before the National Assembly to defend himself over the allegations leveled against him.
Through his lawyers, the DP claimed that the motion to impeach him was unfounded and a misrepresentation of material facts.
Further, the second in command in his petition questioned the National Assembly’s allocation of minimal time for public participation which he described as insufficient to facilitate any meaningful public engagement.
Besieged DP Gachagua accused National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula and his deputy Gladys Boss Shollei of conspiring to oust him following their public utterances that showed they were taking sides.
"The intended impeachment process against me essentially seeks to overturn the sovereign will of the majority of Kenyans who voted for me to be the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya," Gachagua claimed in his petition.
The deputy president insisted that the impeachment is a very serious undertaking and as such, it should be conducted within procedures spelled out in the Constitution.
