Three High Court judges on Friday declined to recuse themselves from former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment case.
The three-judge bench consisting of Justices Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima and Freda Mugambi while delivering the ruling, granted Gachagua’s legal team an opportunity to file amended applications of their initial petition within five days.
“The applications for recusal are hereby disallowed. The petitioners are hereby granted leave to file and serve amended petitions, if need be, within five days of this order. Likewise, the respondents are granted leave to file amended responses if need be within five days of service,” noted the three-judge bench.
Justice Ogolla while reading the judgement, also declined to set aside the conservatory orders that stopped the swearing-in of nominated Deputy President Kithure Kindiki. The judge, instead, announced that the court would decide whether to lift the orders on Tuesday, October 29.
“Given the pending application of the conservatory orders and those seeking to set aside the conservatory orders, we hereby direct as follows; the applications shall be deemed as responses for the conservatory orders. The set applications are thereby fixed for hearing on October 29 this month,” noted Justice Ogolla.
On Thursday, Gachagua’s legal team filed an application protesting the appointment of the judges to hear and determine Gachagua’s petition, the lawyers questioned the two judges’ ability to provide a fair and impartial ruling.
The former deputy president’s legal team, in particular, accused Justice Eric Ogolla and his counterpart Anthony Mrima of a conflict of interest in the case.
Gachagua’s lawyers questioned whether Justice Ogolla can be impartial since his wife was appointed to a state job. The lawyers went ahead to claim that Justice Mrima was a close ally of Senate Speaker Amason Kingi thus not fit to listen to the case.
“The honourable Judge Mrima and the fourth respondent, Speaker of the Senate Amason Kingi are very close friends. The respondent attended the wedding ceremony of the judge and he took a photograph with him,” noted Lawyer Kibe Mungai.
According to lawyer Ndegwa Njiru, Justice Ogolla’s wife held a position at the Kenya Water Towers Agency, an appointment that was made by Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya during her tenure as Environment Cabinet Secretary.
“One of the issues that was before the impeachment was that the DP indicated that Kenya is a shareholding country. It is my client’s submission that Justice Eric Ogolla’s wife may have been a beneficiary of that shareholding,” claimed Ndegwa Njiru.
Meanwhile, the latest court decision comes barely a day after the same judges dismissed Gachagua’s plea to have the bench disqualify itself from hearing his petition claiming that their appointment by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu contravened the law.
