On Thursday, impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua was dealt yet another setback when the Court of Appeal refused to grant orders to halt the three-judge panel that Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu had assembled to decide his case.
On November 6 of this year, Justices George Odunga, Patrick Kiage, and Agrey Muchelule ordered that the matter be heard.
Citing procedural issues resulting from the inability to properly list and serve all parties engaged in the combined action, the judges declared that they were unable to approve Gachagua’s motion.
This comes after the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) said that Gachagua’s team failed to serve them with the petitions.
All interested parties must be served by tomorrow, Friday, November 1, according to the Court of Appeal’s ruling, and they must reply to the orders by Monday of the following week.
The Court of Appeal’s decision followed Gachagua’s request for the court’s intervention to halt the three-judge panel—which included justices Fridah Mugambi, Anthony Mrima, and Eric Ogolla—over what his attorneys claimed was illegal empanelment.
Gachagua claimed in his plea that the bench’s constitution was illegal since Chief Justice Martha Koome was not involved in it. He requested that the Court of Appeal issue orders preventing the three-judge panel from continuing with the case.
According to Gachagua’s attorney, John Njomo, the decisions were incorrect, erroneous, and a misreading of Article 165(4) of the Constitution.
He further maintained that no other judicial officer, not even the Chief Justice, is given the authority to appoint a bench under Articles 25, 27, 47, 48, 50 (1), and 260 of the Constitution.
According to the appeal filed by Gachagua’s team, “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 gives the Chief Justice of Kenya the power to empanel and assign judges…therefore the DCJ has no power to assign and empanel judges.”
The three-judge panel declined to disqualify themselves in a previous decision, and they are anticipated to rule on whether Deputy President Nominee Kithure Kindiki’s swearing-in ceremony may go on.
By Nairobi