NAIROBI, Kenya — Ex-DP Rigathi Gachagua is expected to return to the Milimani Law Courts on Thursday, May 7, as the High Court resumes hearing his petition challenging his impeachment from office.
The matter will be heard before a three-judge bench comprising Justices Erick Ogolla, Anthony Mrima, and Freda Mugambi.
The bench is expected to issue directions on several pending applications before proceeding with arguments on the substantive constitutional petition filed by the former deputy president.
During the initial hearing held on April 27, Gachagua argued that the impeachment proceedings conducted by Parliament in October 2024 were unconstitutional, procedurally defective, and failed to satisfy the constitutional threshold for public participation.
The former deputy president, who now leads the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), also formally withdrew his request seeking reinstatement to office.
Instead, his legal team shifted focus toward seeking constitutional declarations and financial compensation for what they described as unlawful removal from office.
Senior Counsel Paul Muite, who is leading Gachagua’s legal team, told the court that the petitioner now seeks compensation for lost remuneration, damages, and other losses arising from the impeachment.
“The petitioner has abandoned the prayer for reinstatement as Deputy President,” the court was told during the previous session.
Gachagua became the first deputy president in Kenya’s history to be impeached after both the National Assembly and the Senate upheld charges against him in 2024.
The impeachment marked a major political turning point within the Kenya Kwanza administration led by William Ruto and triggered intense political realignments across the country.
In his petition, Gachagua argues that Parliament violated constitutional safeguards governing impeachment proceedings under the Constitution of Kenya, including provisions relating to fair administrative action, due process, and public participation.
He has also alleged that lawmakers were bribed to support his removal, claims that intensified political tensions following the impeachment vote. However, no formal findings or criminal convictions related to the bribery allegations have been publicly disclosed.
The case is expected to test the constitutional limits of impeachment proceedings in Kenya and could establish important legal precedents on accountability, separation of powers, and the procedural standards required for removing senior state officers from office.
Although Gachagua is no longer seeking reinstatement, the outcome of the case could carry significant political and constitutional implications, particularly regarding how Parliament conducts impeachment proceedings against top executive officials.
The High Court’s directions today are expected to determine the next phase of what has become one of the most closely watched constitutional cases in Kenya’s recent political history.
