NAIROBI, Kenya Apr 27 – Senior Counsel Paul Muite has intensified his attack on the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, telling the High Court the process was deliberately rushed and pre-arranged to avoid constitutional scrutiny.
Appearing before judges at the Milimani Law Courts, Muite argued that the impeachment was engineered to be concluded before it could be properly examined for legality.
“The entire impeachment was designed to avoid scrutiny and accountability, with the intention of running the process through before it could be audited for constitutional compliance,” he told the court.
Muite further questioned the conduct of the National Assembly, pointing to what he described as unusual urgency and premeditated steps in the process.
He highlighted the late-night transmission of the Assembly’s resolution to the Senate, arguing it deviated from normal parliamentary practice.
“The normal working hours are daylight hours. How is it that the National Assembly could not even wait for the next day? It was transmitted at night,” he said.
The senior counsel also raised concerns over advance planning, claiming the Speaker of the National Assembly had already issued a notice convening a sitting on a Friday—before the Senate had concluded its role in the process.
“Any thinking person would wonder how the Speaker was able to anticipate the likely decision of the Senate in advance,” Muite argued.
Muite told the court that the intense and fast-paced proceedings took a toll on Gachagua’s health, saying he fell ill during the impeachment process.
“All of us are human beings. Illness does not come knocking. He fell ill after very stressful and strenuous proceedings,” he submitted.
The court is now examining whether the impeachment met constitutional standards, with Muite urging the bench to find that due process was compromised by haste, procedural irregularities, and alleged pre-determined actions.
