- The High Court has dismissed arguments from Rigathi Gachagua and the National Assembly, paving the way for an appeal
- This dispute is about the deputy chief justice forming the High Court bench and related documents
- The court has confirmed that it will only review the legality of the formation of the bench, leaving the merits of dismissal to the High Court
The Supreme Court has dismissed the joint petitions related to the impeachment of the former vice president Rigathi Gachaguaallowing the main appeal on the validity of the High Court bench to proceed.
Source: Facebook
Gachagua and the National Assembly had filed motions, which the high court dismissed with no order as to costs.
The legal crisis stems from October 2024, when the National Assembly impeached Gachagua, leading to numerous High Court cases challenging aspects of the parliamentary process.
Chief Justice Martha Koome he previously issued a decision by a three-judge court to hear the first set of applications.
Later, other requests emerged, including attempts to block Senate proceedings and the swearing in of Kithur Kindiki being deputy president, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu formed one bench without the Chief Justice.
Why did Gachagua oppose the deputy chief justice?
Gachagua challenged the authority of the deputy chief justice and asked the judges to recuse themselves, claiming favoritism.
The Supreme Court dismissed these claims, ruling that the decision to recuse is an administrative duty that the deputy chief justice can exercise in the absence of the chief justice, and found no reasons for recusing himself.
The Court of Appeal later overruled the Supreme Court on the issue of acquittal, affirming that only the chief justice has the power to appoint judges, except in exceptional circumstances, while upholding the decision against denying acquittal.
Following these decisions, the Parliament submitted an appeal to the High Court, while Gachagua submitted a cross appeal.
Before the hearing of the case, Gachagua wanted to stop the proceedings of the High Court, cancel the appeal of the Parliament, and remove certain documents from the record, while the Parliament also requested to cancel his cross-appeal.
What decision did the Supreme Court make regarding Gachagua’s application?
In a decision by a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Koome, the High Court dismissed both the petitions. The court said it could not stay the proceedings of the High Court, affirmed that the Parliament’s appeal raised important issues that deserved a full hearing, and ruled that the documents that Gachagua sought to be quashed, such as the communications and release orders issued by the deputy Chief Justice on October 18, 2024, were relevant to the dispute and were relied upon by the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court further clarified that Gachagua’s appeal did not reach the threshold for quick dismissal, and the Parliament could not dismiss it because the issues raised, including judicial bias and dealing with refusal, fall within the constitutional authority of the court and are related to the right to a fair hearing under Article 50 of the constitution.
The court emphasized that its review will only focus on the legality of the bench’s acquittal, not the merits of Gachagua’s charges, which are still pending in the High Court.
Source: Facebook
Did Mutuse regret removing Gachagua?
Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that more than a year after Gachagua was removed from office, Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse said he continues to be proud of sponsoring the motion to remove him from power.
Mutuse filed a motion to impeach him in the National Assembly on October 1, 2024, citing alleged unconstitutionality, divisive public behavior, failure to perform his duties as deputy president and questionable accumulation of wealth.
The motion was strongly supported by members of parliament, leading to Gachagua’s removal and later consideration of the issue by the Senate.
Looking back, Mutuse said he had no regrets and said that the events after his ouster vindicated his actions.
He claimed that the former vice president continued to engage in tribal politics, stressing that such behavior proved that Gachagua was unfit for public office.
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Source: TUKO.co.ke
