A fresh twist has emerged in the legal fallout from the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, with the Senate now turning to medical evidence presented by Dr Daniel Gikonyo to challenge claims that it mishandled the process.
At the center of the dispute is an affidavit by the cardiologist, which Gachagua’s legal team used to argue that he was too unwell to continue with the Senate trial and was therefore denied a fair hearing. That claim formed the backbone of his petition challenging the impeachment.
The High Court partly agreed, ruling that Senators violated Gachagua’s right to a fair hearing after declining to adjourn proceedings despite being informed of his illness.
The judges said proceeding in his absence created a procedural imbalance that breached constitutional guarantees.
But in a critical turn, the court declined to overturn the impeachment, finding that the process remained constitutionally valid despite the violation.
Senate Turns to Gikonyo’s Evidence
The affidavit by Dr Gikonyo became a central issue in both the Senate trial and the subsequent court battle, with lawyers relying on it to argue that Gachagua had been impeached without a proper opportunity to defend himself.
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The Senate, however, is now using the same evidence to counter what it sees as a mischaracterization of its conduct.
According to the House leadership, the medical claims did not justify halting proceedings within the strict timelines set out in the Constitution for the removal of a Deputy President.
Senators have maintained that Gachagua was given sufficient opportunity to present his defense, including through legal representation.
This position has gained fresh relevance following the court’s ruling, which acknowledged the rights violation but stopped short of invalidating the outcome.
According to Speaker Amason Kingi, this marks a turning point in the case, shifting attention from whether a violation occurred to whether it was serious enough to collapse the entire process.
“The Senate will challenge the court’s finding that it violated the right to a fair hearing during the impeachment proceedings,” Speaker Amason Kingi stated.
The Senate is now moving to appeal the finding on fair hearing, escalating the dispute to a higher court.
Why The ‘Blunder’ Claim Falls Short
The High Court was clear that while the Senate erred in failing to adjourn, the mistake did not rise to the level required to nullify the impeachment.
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Judges held that both the National Assembly and the Senate had substantially complied with the Constitution in removing Gachagua from office.
They further ruled that impeachment of a Deputy President is a self-executing constitutional process whose finality cannot easily be reversed once completed.
Attempting to undo the result, the court noted, would create the risk of a constitutional crisis, including the possibility of two individuals claiming the same office.
Instead of overturning the outcome, the court awarded Gachagua Ksh50 million in damages for the violation of his right to a fair hearing.
The ruling effectively draws a line between procedural errors and constitutional consequences, making clear that while the Gikonyo affidavit was sufficient to prove a breach of rights, it was not sufficient to collapse the entire impeachment process.
The judges also stated that impeachment proceedings are subject to judicial review only to the extent of testing constitutionality, but not to reverse outcomes where the process has already run its full course under the law.
This reinforces the Senate’s argument that procedural disputes, even when upheld, cannot invalidate its final decision.
With the Senate now preparing to appeal the finding on a fair hearing, the same medical evidence that exposed a flaw in the proceedings is set to remain central the the next phase of the legal battle.
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