High Court upholds Rigathi Gachagua impeachment

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. [File, Standard]

High Court in Nairobi has upheld Rigathi Gachagua's impeachment but awarded him Sh50 million after finding the Senate violated his right to a fair hearing during the proceedings.

A three-judge bench comprising Justices Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima and Freda Mugambi ruled on Monday, June 8,  that Parliament acted within the Constitution in removing the former Deputy President from office, dismissing petitions challenging the October 2024 impeachment.

The judges held that impeachment proceedings are subject to judicial scrutiny and rejected arguments that the doctrine of separation of powers barred the court from reviewing Parliament's actions.

"We find that the impeachment proceedings challenged in these petitions are justiciable and that this Court possesses jurisdiction to determine whether the National Assembly and the Senate acted within constitutional bounds," Ogola observed.

The court found that the National Assembly and Senate substantially complied with constitutional requirements, including public participation, and dismissed claims that the process was invalid.

"It is to be expected that logistical and operational challenges may arise in a large-scale nationally coordinated exercise. Such localised deficiencies would not invalidate the entire process," the bench noted.

Judges also dismissed allegations of bias, predetermination and conflict of interest against parliamentary leaders and legislators.

"The mere fact that members supported or opposed the impeachment cannot, standing alone, establish constitutional bias," Ogola explained.

The bench, however, found that the Senate violated Gachagua's right to a fair hearing after declining to adjourn proceedings to allow consideration of written submissions. The court consequently awarded him Sh50 million in damages to be paid by the Senate.

At the same time, the judges upheld Senate standing orders that required impeachment proceedings to be concluded within 10 days, although they recommended amendments to the rules.

The court further upheld the appointment of Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, ruling that public participation was not constitutionally required during the nomination and approval process.

Judges also ruled that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission did not need to clear Kindiki before his appointment.