The High Court in Nairobi has dismissed an application filed challenging the empanelling of a three-judge bench to hear and determine a petition challenging Deputy President Kithure Kindiki.
The bench, consisting of Justices Eric Ogolla, Anthony Mrima and Fridah Mugambi, declined to recuse itself from a petition, ruling that the applicant failed to show any evidence of bias.
"Accordingly, therefore, we find no bias on the part of this bench. The application dated October 1, 2025, is therefore dismissed," the court ruled.
"The notice of motion dated October 1, 2025, is granted and typed and certified copies shall be provided to the applicants. Parties shall bear their own costs," the court added.
Activist Enock Aura had claimed his case was unfairly isolated, claiming that separating his suit from other similar petitions dealing with the swearing-in of Kindiki showed potential bias.
He further argued that the separation of his application filed in October 2025 could result in inconsistent court rulings and violate his right to an impartial ruling.
During the ruling, the three-judge bench noted that the separation of Aura's case from other similar petitions resulted from his own request.
Following the court's dismissal of the petition challenging the three-judge bench, the judges set the hearing of the main petition seeking to overturn Kindiki’s appointment and swearing-in in February 2026.
The ruling stemmed from a main petition filed by Aura in which he challenged the swearing in of Kithure Kindiki as Rigathi Gachagua's replacement following the latter's impeachment.
In his main petition, he argued that Kindiki was still serving as the Interior and Coordination Cabinet Secretary at the time of his approval by parliament as the new deputy president.
Additionally, he noted that at the time of Kindiki's swearing in, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had not been fully constituted.
Kindiki was sworn in as the deputy president on November 1, 2024, after the High Court lifted conservatory orders that had barred his oath-taking to replace Gachagua, who was impeached by the Senate in October of the same year.
