Lawyers always play to the gallery, even though they call it by a different, grand name

Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during the hearing of cases challenging his impeachment a Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi, on October 22, 2024. [David Gichuru, Standard]

Court cases challenging the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua aka Riggy G as deputy president commenced in earnest, and the first item on the agenda was the constitution of a three-person bench by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu.

It was Riggy G’s considered view, his lawyers said, that such powers are not vested in DCJ. Perhaps that was sound legal reasoning; Riggy G couldn’t have the authority to make any significant decision during his boss’s absence. Come to think of it, he wasn’t even left in charge during Prezzo Bill Ruto’s many trips abroad.

That was before the Gen-Z protests, which saw Prezzo get grounded for months, and he has displayed less hesitance in travelling abroad since, especially after it was alleged that Riggy G was pivotal in organising those protests.

This week, Riggy G’s legal team, and it is a huge team, challenged the constitution of the Bench and consolidation of its cases— and they are many— filed in different courts around the country.  Their contention, other than the deputy CJ’s powers, was that the cases had been consolidated and assigned at “supersonic speed.” This, in their estimation, was suspicious.

The judges said they managed this feat by using well established tools like the internet to move files, and to respect the element of urgency that had been conveyed in the pleadings. Put simply, the defence case was much ado about nothing. But since judges are expected to always be civil, they accused the defence of playing to the gallery.
Lawyers, of course, do that all the time, even though they don’t call it that. Which is why this idiom, delivered with delicate precision by Justice Freda Mugambi, got under the defence’s skin. Senior Counsel Paul Muite, who is my friend, even though I am not learned, appeared to lose a bit of hair in an instance.

And the senior-most lawyer in the land, at least by age and experience, John Khaminwa, scoffed at former Attorney General Githu Muigai’s professorial hubris. Those titles mean nothing, Khaminwa spat, a sentiment I fully associate with because, in all honesty, they don’t.