The legal battle surrounding the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua took a dramatic turn today as the High Court was forced to adjourn proceedings until Wednesday.
The three-judge bench, led by Justice Eric Ogola, made the decision after legal representatives for the National Assembly and other respondents declined to proceed with the hearing.
The defense team cited technicalities and a need for further consultation as the primary reasons for the sudden halt in the courtroom.
This delay has added a new layer of tension to a case that has already divided the country along deep political and regional lines.
The National Assembly is currently pushing for a fresh medical examination of Gachagua to verify his fitness.
They are questioning the validity of previous medical reports that cited exhaustion and chest pains as reasons for his absence during key Senate proceedings.
His legal team, however, has characterized the push for a new exam as “political harassment” and a violation of his fundamental right to privacy.
They argue that the impeachment was a predetermined political hit job orchestrated to silence a powerful regional leader in the Mt. Kenya region.
Outside the courtroom, supporters of the former DP gathered in large numbers to protest what they call the “weaponization of the law.”
The case is being watched internationally as a landmark constitutional test of the impeachment process in the Republic of Kenya.