Appeals Court Issues Ruling On Gachagua Petition, Leaves Embattled DP Devastated
Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua suffered yet another setback on Thursday when the Court of Appeal declined to issue orders to halt the three-judge bench led by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu from deciding his fate.
Justices Patrick Kiage, George Odunga, and Agrey Muchelule ordered that the case be heard on November 6, at 12 p.m., this year.
“The matter is urgent and has huge public interest and the members of the bench, though engaged in other matters in the course of next week, will assemble at 12 noon on Wednesday for the highlighting of submission on the matter,” Justice Kiage, the presiding judge stated.
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— Zakheem Rajan, HSC, MPRSK (@zakheem_rajan) October 31, 2024
ORDERS
1.The applications for conservatory orders are hereby disallowed.
2.The conservatory orders issued on 18th of October 2024 in Kerugoya High Court E015/2024 are hereby… pic.twitter.com/gUlg2BAk6o
The judges denied Gachagua’s request, citing procedural issues stemming from the failure to properly list and serve all parties involved in the consolidated case.
This comes after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party claimed that they were not served with petitions by the Gachagua team.
The Attorney General, the National Assembly, the Senate, and other interested parties argued that the case could not proceed unless the respondents were served.
The Court of Appeal ordered that all interested parties be served by tomorrow, Friday, November 1 and that they respond to the orders of service by Monday next week.
The Court of Appeal declines to grant orders to stop High Court proceedings for impeached DP Gachagua pending appeal; case to be reviewed on November 6.
— Moe (@moneyacademyKE) October 31, 2024
Gachagua had sought the court’s intervention to stop the three-judge bench before the Court of Appeal issued its ruling.
Which consists of justices Eric Ogolla, Anthony Mrima, and Fridah Mugambi, over what his lawyers described as unlawful empanelment.
In his application, Gachagua argued that the constitution of the bench was unlawful because Chief Justice Martha Koome had no input into it.
He asked the Court of Appeal to issue orders preventing the three-judge bench from proceeding with the case.
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Gachagua, through his lawyer John Njomo, stated that the rulings were inaccurate, erroneous, and a misinterpretation of Article 165 (4) of the Constitution.
He also argued that Articles 25, 27, 47, 48, 50 (1), and 260 of the Constitution only give the Chief Justice the authority to appoint a bench, not any other judicial officer.
“The applicant contends that the stated ruling is based on not only a misinterpretation of Article 165 (4) of the Constitution but also a violation of Articles 25, 27, 47, 48, 50 (1) and 260 as the Constitution accords the power to empanel and assign judges to only the Chief Justice of Kenya…therefore the DCJ has no power to assign and empanel Judges,” the appeal by Gachagua’s team read in part.
In an earlier decision, the three-judge bench refused to recuse themselves, and they are expected to rule on whether Deputy President Nominee Kithure Kindiki’s swearing-in ceremony can proceed.
Appeals Court Issues Ruling On Gachagua Petition, Leaves Embattled DP Devastated
