Legal shift: Gachagua withdraws petitions filed before impeachment

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has withdrawn all pre-impeachment petitions he and his allies had filed last year in a bid to block his removal from office.

In a letter to Chief Justice Martha Koome, Gachagua notified the Judiciary of his decision to drop the four petitions, collectively referred to as cohort one, on grounds that they have been overtaken by events since his impeachment.

Gachagua is now shifting focus to post-impeachment cases that challenge the legality of his ouster.

He wants the High Court to declare the impeachment unconstitutional and therefore invalid.

The letter from his legal team explains that the legal arguments in the withdrawn cases are already covered in the ongoing post-impeachment matters.

"The constitutional and legal issues raised in the above-mentioned pre-impeachment petitions are replicated in the post-impeachment petitions," the letter to Koome states.

Last week, the Court of Appeal dissolved a three-judge bench that had been formed to handle the petitions.

The court found that the bench was improperly constituted by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu. It directed the Chief Justice to form a new one.

Gachagua’s post-impeachment cases include five petitions filed in Nairobi and four in the Kerugoya High Court.

These remain active and are awaiting hearing and determination.

"The above-mentioned post-impeachment petitions have not been withdrawn and are still on record awaiting hearing and determination by the court," the notice reads.

Gachagua's lawyer, Victor Swanya, requested the Chief Justice to consider the notice of withdrawal while setting up the new bench to handle the remaining petitions.

"In the circumstances, we respectfully request that when placing the petitions that were subject of the appeal before Honourable CJ in compliance with the Court of Appeal's directive, please bring to the attention of the Honourable CJ the notice of withdrawal for her Ladyship's consideration when empanelling a bench," Swanya said in the letter.