Blow to Gachagua as Supreme Court issues ruling on impeachment case
Supreme Court has dealt a setback to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after dismissing applications arising from the legal battles that followed his impeachment in 2024.
The Supreme Court has dealt a setback to former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after dismissing applications arising from the legal battles that followed his impeachment in 2024.
In a ruling delivered on Friday, January 30, the apex court dismissed applications filed by both Gachagua and the National Assembly, declining to halt proceedings or strike out any appeals before it.
According to the statement, the case traces its origins to the aftermath of Gachagua’s impeachment by the National Assembly in October 2024.
The court noted that the petitions raised weighty constitutional questions, prompting the empanelment of special High Court benches under Article 165(4) of the Constitution.
“The dispute arose in the aftermath of the impeachment of former Deputy President Hon. Rigathi Gachagua in October 2024. Following the impeachment in the National Assembly, six (6) petitions were filed in the High Court across the country by different parties, including Hon. Gachagua, challenging various aspects of the parliamentary proceedings,” the statement read.
The court noted that the petitions raised weighty constitutional questions, prompting the empanelment of special High Court benches.
“The petitions raised significant constitutional questions and were required to be heard by special benches of more than one High Court judge. Consequently, the petitions were referred to the Hon. Chief Justice to constitute special benches of the High Court to hear and determine them in line with Article 165(4) of the Constitution,” the statement added.
According to the statement, as the impeachment process progressed, a second wave of petitions was filed, including fresh applications by Gachagua seeking to block the Senate from confirming the impeachment and the swearing-in of Prof. Kithure Kindiki as Deputy President.
The controversy escalated when the Deputy Chief Justice empaneled the same judges to hear part of the second cluster while the Chief Justice was away, a move Gachagua challenged.
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The High Court dismissed both challenges in October 2024, a position partly overturned by the Court of Appeal, which ruled that only the Chief Justice has the authority to empanel High Court benches, save for exceptional circumstances.
That appellate finding prompted the National Assembly to move to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court emphasized that the issue before it is narrow and does not touch on the substantive impeachment.
“For purposes of clarity, it is the empanelment that is in question in the appeal before the Supreme Court and not the challenge of the impeachment proceedings concerning Hon. Gachagua, which is still pending before the High Court,” the statement read.
Before the hearing of the main appeal, both sides filed applications seeking to strike out parts of the case.
“After the institution of the appeal and cross-appeal before the Supreme Court, two applications were brought. The first is an omnibus application by Hon. Gachagua seeking an order of stay of the proceedings before the High Court… The second application is by the National Assembly, seeking to strike out Hon. Gachagua’s Notice of Cross-Appeal,” the statement added.
As such, the court rejected both attempts, delivering a decisive blow to Gachagua’s bid to freeze the process.
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