Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has assembled a legal team of 20 advocates, including senior counsels, to represent him in Parliament and the courts as he braces himself for a high-stakes impeachment battle.
With debate regarding his potential removal from office set to commence next week, Mr Gachagua’s legal team, headed by lawyer Paul Muite, is gearing up to unleash a counterattack against their client’s eleven impeachment allegations.
As this unfolds, Mr Gachagua has remained out of the public eye for nearly four days, his last appearance being a radio address to the Kalenjin community just before the motion was introduced.
The Deputy President’s absence has raised eyebrows, but his legal representatives are already hard at work, consulting with him to ensure they are well prepared for the challenges ahead.
Victor Swanya, one of Mr Gachagua’s lawyers, expressed confidence in their strategy on Saturday, saying the team is well prepared to fight the accusations against the Deputy President.
“We have Senior Counsel Paul Muite; he’s the one who is leading us. We have counsels Tom Macharia, Amos Kisilu, Elisha Ongoya, and others. We have looked through the points, the accusations against the Deputy President, and we’re prepared to deal with them,” Mr Swanya told Citizen TV.
He confirmed that the team convened on Saturday to solidify their approach ahead of Gachagua’s scheduled appearance before lawmakers on Tuesday.
Mr Muite, with over three decades of experience in legal and political matters, previously achieved a successful defence for former Embu Governor Martin Wambora by arguing that adequate public participation had not been afforded before the governor’s dismissal.
The legal team aims to invoke similar arguments during Mr Gachagua’s upcoming proceedings.
Mr Swanya criticised the process, saying, “You’re giving a notice at night, and people are waking up now about what is to be done today… Notice should be reasonable and should be between 4-7 days.”
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Additionally, Mr Gachagua’s team intends to request that National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula and his deputy, Gladys Boss, step aside from the proceedings. They claim both officials have already shown bias, which could undermine the impartiality of the process.
“For the sake of justice, I think the two principal officers should recuse themselves as this debate is coming up,” Mr Swanya noted.
As discussions about Mr Gachagua’s fate heat up, the stakes are particularly high, with Article 75, 3 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 prohibiting any State officer removed from office from holding another State position in the future.
EDITOR’S NOTE: President William Ruto has unleashed his machinery to decapitate his deputy politically, setting in motion an impeachment process. Don’t miss all the drama in the October 2024 issue of Nairobi Law Magazine.