As Kenyans come to terms with the spectacle that was Elisha Ongoya's cross-examination of Mwengi Mutuse on Wednesday, one government official has come out with an interesting account to highlight Ongoya's prowess in law.
Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) boss Ezekiel Mutua, like thousands of Kenyans, was left thoroughly impressed by how Ongoya grilled Kibwezi West MP Mutuse, who has certainly had better days.
Ongoya, alongside Gachagua's other advocate Tom Macharia, showed little mercy, breaking down Mutuse's impeachment motion in a bid to tear down all allegations made against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in Parliament.
After Mutuse's grilling by Gachagua's lawyers, Kenyans took a keen interest in Ongoya as a professional, with Mutua giving some perspective on the legal mind's past work.
Mutua gave a testimony which explained why Ongoya was so masterful in his approach towards Mutuse. According to the MCSK boss, Ongoya was once his lawyer and not once did he lose a single case under him.
"Elisha Zebedee Ongoya was once my lawyer and he won all the cases in which he represented me. We haven't met for over ten years, but I blessed him when he saved my young career during the Kibaki administration," Mutua said.
Mutua narrated how, during the Mwai Kibaki administration when he worked as Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Journalists (KUJ), he faced an onslaught from powerful government officials, who were keen on taking him down. "A plot was hatched to bring us down. At some point in 2005 I had so many cases against me including one from a shylock whom I had borrowed 10k but kept compounding the interest on the principal amount until it became Ksh120,000," he went on.
In an interesting case of serendipity, Mutua bumped into a young Ongoya during a radio show, and the lawyer offered to represent him pro bono. Ongoya ultimately helped Mutua get cleared of all charges, paving way for the outspoken official to become MCSK boss.
Gachagua's defence: Among the allegations Mutuse was cross-examined on by Ongoya included claims that Gachagua used his companies to build wealth for himself through graft.
Ongoya also left Mutuse lost for words with his bold and direct take to debunk allegations that the DP threatened Justice Esther Maina of the High Court.
The bigger picture: While there is no denying Ongoya's prowess as a legal mind, it will still take an extraordinary twist to save Gachagua from the jaws of impeachment. The DP has suffered a string of losses in the legal battle, with the court declining to stop his case from moving to the Senate.
With at least 26 cases unsuccessfully filed by the DP's legal team, a three-judge bench ruled on Tuesday that the court would allow the Senate to perform its constitutional mandate.
