3-Judge bench of Justices Anthony Mrima, Eric Ogola and Freda Mugambi hearing impeachment case by DP Gachagua
On Friday, three members of the High Court refused to step aside from the impeachment proceedings of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
In rendering its decision, the three-judge panel including Justices Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima, and Freda Mugambi gave Gachagua’s legal team five days to submit revised applications of their original petition.
“The applications for recusal are hereby disallowed. The petitioners are hereby granted leave to file and serve amended petitions, if need be, within five days of this order. Likewise, the respondents are granted leave to file amended responses if need be within five days of service,” said the judges.
The judges further refused to overturn the conservatory injunction that prevented nominated Deputy President Kithure Kindiki from being sworn in a ruling read by Justice Ogolla. Instead, the judge declared that on Tuesday, October 29, the court would decide whether to lift the orders.
“Given the pending application of the conservatory orders and those seeking to set aside the conservatory orders, we hereby direct as follows; the applications shall be deemed as responses for the conservatory orders. The set applications are thereby fixed for hearing on October 29 this month,” Justice Ogolla stated.
Initially, Gachagua’s legal team protested the judges’ appointment to hear and decide his petition on Thursday. The lawyers questioned the two judges’ competence to render a fair and unbiased decision; Justice Eric Ogolla and his colleague Anthony Mrima.
The duo were specifically accused of having a conflict of interest in the case by the impeached Deputy President’s legal team.
Gachagua’s attorneys questioned Justice Ogolla’s impartiality in light of his wife’s appointment to a state position.
“One of the issues that was before the impeachment was that the DP indicated that Kenya is a shareholding country. It is my client’s submission that Justice Eric Ogolla’s wife may have been a beneficiary of that shareholding,” said Ndegwa Njiru.
The attorneys proceeded to assert that Justice Mrima was unfit to hear the case because he was a close associate of Senate Speaker Amason Kingi.
“The honourable Judge Mrima and the fourth respondent, Speaker of the Senate Amason Kingi are very close friends. The respondent attended the wedding ceremony of the judge and he took a photograph with him,” Lawyer Kibe Mungai argued.
Advocate Ndegwa Njiru claimed that Justice Ogolla’s wife was employed by the Kenya Water Towers Agency, where she was appointed by Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya while she was Environment Cabinet Secretary.
Based on the ruling, the judgement has dealt a blow to besieged impeached DP Rigathi Gachagua, barely a day after the same judges denied his request that the bench disqualifies itself from empanelment appointment by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu on the grounds that their appointment was was unconstitutional.
