Gachagua Ouster: Judges to Deliver Ruling on Recusal Wednesday

A three-judge bench is set to announce its decision on Wednesday at 3:30 PM regarding whether it will step down from a case contesting the orders that blocked Kithure Kindiki’s appointment as Deputy President.

Justices Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima, and Freda Mugambi scheduled the ruling after extensive arguments were presented about the legitimacy of their appointment to the case.

Rigathi Gachagua, the impeached Deputy President, represented by Senior Counsel Paul Muite, argued that only the Chief Justice has the authority to form a judicial panel. His legal team questioned how the case file was transferred from Kerugoya on Saturday at 4 PM, allowing Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu to appoint the three justices—Mrima, Ogola, and Mugambi—to hear the matter.

The orders preventing Kithure Kindiki from assuming the role of Deputy President were initially issued by the Kerugoya court.

Soon after, Solicitor General Shadrack Mose filed an application to have those orders overturned.

On Saturday, Justice Freda Mugambi, who presides in Kerugoya, directed that the application challenging the orders against Kithure Kindiki be heard on Tuesday.

In response, the state’s legal team, led by Senior Counsels Prof. Githu Muigai and Tom Ojienda, argued that the judicial bench was appropriately constituted by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu. They explained that the DCJ was exercising authority delegated by Chief Justice Martha Koome, who was in Geneva, Switzerland, at the time.

Ojienda referenced the Judicial Service Act, stating that the DCJ is empowered to act on behalf of the CJ during her absence.

However, Gachagua’s team urged the court to rule that they had not been given a fair opportunity to examine a document that purportedly confirmed the CJ’s presence in Geneva.

Gachagua was impeached on Thursday after the Senate endorsed his removal, following the National Assembly’s vote on October 8.

Senators upheld five out of the eleven charges brought against him by Kibwezi West MP, Mwengi Mutuse, who moved the impeachment motion.

Before the vote, Gachagua was scheduled to defend himself in person, but he fell ill unexpectedly and was hospitalized at Karen Hospital until Saturday morning.

The former Deputy President has since claimed that he was denied a fair hearing in the Senate, as his legal team’s request to delay the proceedings was rejected by the Senators.