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The High Court has for the third time declined to stop Parliament from considering Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment motion.
Justices Eric Ogola, Freda Mugambi, and Anthony Mrima on Wednesday morning ruled that the claims raised were speculative as Gachagua is yet to appear before the Senate to defend himself.
According to the High Court Judges, DP had an opportunity to raise the issues he had fronted before the court in the Senate.
“At the moment we are being called upon to anticipate an outcome of a process that has not been completed,” said Justice Ogola.
They however said that he could decide to seek its intervention in the event he is impeached by the upper house.
The judges found that it was clear that the embattled DP had raised similar issues before Justice Chacha Mwita and Justice Lawrence Mugambi.
Nevertheless, they found that the issues raised over the process were novel and ought to be scrutinized by the court.
“We take the view that a pre-mafacie on the face of its case has been established. The application raises constitutional issues that require further judicial interrogation,” the bench ruled.
Immediately after the three judges finalized their orders, Gachagua’s lawyer pleaded that they should be allowed to amend the cases and appear on Friday after Senators decide whether to send him home.
Gachagua had made a last-minute effort on Wednesday evening to stop the Senate from hearing the impeachment motion by asking three High Court Judges to intervene.
Gachagua’s lawyer, senior lawyer Paul Muite urged the trio to hear him as the Senate would start hearing the motion today.
Another lawyer Suiyanka Lempaa asked the bench to block President William Ruto from submitting the name of a new nominee to Parliament until the cases are heard and determined.
Muite said that the cases before the court would be rendered an academic exercise if the court sits today.
“It will be purely academic to appear tomorrow at 9 am. Asking us to appear tomorrow morning, will render our application nugatory,” argued Muite.
He said that Justice Mwita had observed that the issues raised were weighty and needed more than one Judge to determine
However, National Assembly’s lawyer Paul Nyamodi said that it would be unfair to hear and make a ruling on the same issue as Justice Chacha Mwita has ruled on the same issue.
Lawyers Peter Wanyama and Eric Gumbo also urged the court not to intervene. Gumbo argued that Gachagua was abusing the court while Wanyama said that the issues being raised were similar to those that had been heard and dismissed before.
In the meantime, Gema Watho's lawyer Ndegwa Njiru argued that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had not been constituted, hence, the court ought to determine if the President can appoint the DP.
Lawyer Paul Nyamodi, on behalf of the National Assembly, urged the court to dismiss the application. He was of the view that 29 cases filed in different courts were seeking similar orders and which had been rejected.
Senate on the other hand argued that it should be allowed to consider the motion before courts intervene.
Additional reporting by Kamau Muthoni.
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