Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has written to the Judiciary questioning how one of the cases challenging his impeachment was placed before a three-judge bench without the express direction of Chief Justice Martha Koome.
In a letter to the deputy registrar of the High Court, Mr Gachagua wonders how a bench, which had earlier been constituted by Justice Koome, “hastily convened” last Saturday to consider an application seeking to lift an order blocking the swearing-in of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki as the deputy president.
Through his lawyer John Njomo, Mr Gachagua said the “lightning speed” with which the case, which was filed at the High Court in Kerugoya, was taken over by Justices Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima, and Freda Mugambil, who gave directions for the matter to be heard on October 22, 2024.
The lawyer said it appeared that there was a “well-orchestrated plan to trample on the rights of the petitioner” by denying him a fair trial, right from the National Assembly, all the way to the Senate and now at the Judiciary.
“In the meantime, we are instructed to request that an investigation be launched to establish how the file (Nairobi High Court Petition No. E565 of 2024) moved from Justice Chacha to the three judges without express directions from the chief justice,” he said.
Mr Njomo said there were preliminary indications that Justice Koome was not even in the country at the material time in question.
“The inalienable requirement of fair trial dictates that justice must not only be done, but also, that it must perceptively appear to be done. To the contrary in the instant matter, there is a clear case of bias in the manner in which the Petitioner is being treated,” he said.
The lawyer said it was also evident that the jurisdiction of the Chief Justice was being usurped.
