The High Court sitting in Kerugoya has on Friday, October 4, 2024, directed the National Assembly to extend the period for public participation in the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to the Constituency levels.
This is after Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina moved to court arguing that the single-day public participation exercise held at the county level would not incorporate the views of a majority of Kenyans.
Njeri certified the petition as urgent, listing National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula and Deputy Gladys Shollei as respondents. The National Assembly had only organised public participation in 47 centres, one in each county nationwide.
In his ruling, Justice Richard Mwongo said the public hearing scheduled for today, October 4 may proceed as a first stage but the respondents in the case to organize similar public hearings for citizens at least at the constituency level.
The move comes as a temporary relief to DP Gachagua after his lawyers moved to court on Thursday, October 3 in an attempt to stop the public participation exercise but were halted in their tracks.
Gachagua’s lawyers accused Wetangula and Shollei of bias for allegedly pronouncing themselves on the matter.
They further argued that the evidenced tabled against the deputy president at the National Assembly comprises largely of fabricated material.
Gachagua argues that the move to remove him from office is unconstitutional and subverts the will of the Kenyan people expressed through the ballot in August 2022.
The DP’s defence also sought to have the court block the National Assembly from debating, passing and transmitting the impeachment motion to the Senate pending determination of the case.
The deputy president had filed four earlier motions in an attempt to block the impeachment but were all thrown out by the court.
