Courts
Court of Appeal to rule on Gachagua impeachment case on May 9
Judiciary said judges of the Court of Appeal will determine multiple petitions filed by various parties challenging different aspects of the impeachment process and the subsequent appointments
The Judiciary has stayed the hearing of cases relating to the impeachment of Rigathi Gachagua as deputy president last October pending a Court of Appeal decision on May 9.
In a notice posted on its social media platforms, the Judiciary said judges of the Court of Appeal will determine multiple petitions filed by various parties challenging different aspects of the impeachment process and the subsequent appointments.
The consolidated cases, including Civil Appeal No. E829 of 2024 and Civil Appeal No. E022 of 2025, encompass challenges to the impeachment’s constitutionality, the procedural integrity of the Senate’s actions, and the legitimacy of the new Deputy President’s appointment.
“Upon hearing counsel for the appellants and counsel for the respondents, the judgment on the two consolidated matters is reserved for 9th May 2025. Meanwhile, the High Court proceedings are stayed to await determination of these consolidated appeals,” it said.
A three-judge bench of the High Court, which comprises Justices Anthony Mrima, Freda Mugambi, and Eric Ogola, has been hearing the over 40 consolidated cases.
Gachagua and his allies had moved to court to challenge the process used by the Senate to confirm the impeachment charges paving the way for the appointment of Kithure Kindiki as his successor as well as the legality of his nomination for DP while surviving as Interior CS, among other grounds.
He also challenged the powers of Deputy Chief Justice Philemona Mwilu to empanel the High Court bench while Chief Justice Martha Koome was out of the country, but the judges dismissed his application leading him to move to the Court of Appeal.
Justices Mrima, Mugambi and Ogola held that in the absence of the CJ, the DCJ could exercise that role to ensure continuity in governance and the seamless administration of justice.
Through Senior Counsel Paul Muite, Gachagua appealed the ruling, arguing that the mandate to empanel judges under Article 165(4) of the Constitution is an administrative function vested solely in the Chief Justice.
The Senate is also in court to oppose the cases against it.
