Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is determined to put up a legal fight to save his job even as he waits on the Senate to seal his fate. The second in command has assembled a vibrant legal team in bid to block his ouster.
This is after 281 members of parliament on Tuesday voted in support of Gachagua’s impeachment motion surpassing the threshold set by the Constitution of Kenya which requires at least 233 MPs for the motion to proceed to the Senate.
DP Gachagua’s legal brigade has now hinted at the deputy president's camp's preference for the matter to be referred to the Supreme Court owing to the weight of the allegations.
The team led by veteran Counsel Paul Muite and Fred Ngatia want Chief Justice Martha Koome to constitute a three-judge bench to prosecute the matter.
Gachagua’s legal team argue that the impeachment of the deputy president is a grave matter that needs a 3-bench judge to hear and determine the matter.
"It's not about numbers in the National Assembly. There has to be proof of gross violation of the constitution," lawyer Paul Muite posited stressing that Article 1 of the Constitution of Kenya bestows all sovereign power to the people of Kenya who elected the president and his deputy.
Reportedly, Deputy Rigathi Gachagua will tap into services of about 20 law firms that will mount a legal defence disputing his ouster. The second in command is facing 11 charges.
Equally, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has been enjoined in the case challenging removal of the deputy president.
This comes as the Senate set hearing of the impeachment motion against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua for Wednesday 16, and Thursday 17 next week. The case will be heard through the plenary way as opposed to a special committee.
The Senate reached the decision to proceed the plenary way to allow all 47 Senators to hear the case against Gachagua, after the Minority Leader in the Senate, Edwin Sifuna, opposed the motion to have the matter heard by a special committee.
The Constitution requires that the motion to impeach the deputy president garners the support of at least two-thirds of senators. The impeachment can however be appealed through the courts which is an option Gachagua's camp is keen to explore.
