Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua has vowed to return to court to challenge his removal from the Deputy President’s office, maintaining the impeachment process was fraudulent.
The DCP leader believes he has built a watertight case proving his ouster rested on unconstitutional grounds. He stated that he is banking on the integrity of the judicial system to deliver justice.
“I will be in court from tomorrow to Wednesday to file a petition challenging that illegal process,” he said in Bamburi, Mombasa County, on Sunday.
While addressing a gathering in Mombasa, Gachagua revealed that his family initially hesitated to support the legal battle due to the public humiliation he faced. He noted that the ordeal traumatized his children, who struggled to reconcile their past support for the president with the subsequent public embarrassment of their father.
“I told my children about it and they opposed it saying I faced humiliation. My children were traumatised that a man we had helped to be President was embarrassing us before the people of Kenya,” Gachagua said.
Despite these personal reservations, he remains committed to seeking a legal remedy for the process he deems unlawful. Gachagua expressed confidence that the judiciary will ultimately deliver a fair ruling, stressing that he and his supporters seek only an impartial application of the law to counter what he described as a climate of impunity.
“We have faith in our judicial system that it should be able to give justice to Rigathi Gachagua and my supporters. We have faith that three judges will do what is right and apply the law. All we are asking for is justice, and impunity should not rule over this country.”
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka stood in solidarity with Gachagua, claiming the upcoming petition would expose deep-seated corruption within the legislative process. He alleged that significant sums were used to influence the vote in both the National Assembly and the Senate.
“We know some of them were bribed, and even some confessed that they were given between Ksh.10 to Ksh.20 million. All this will be revealed in court,” Kalonzo noted.
The legal battle has already seen significant shifts. On May 9, 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned a prior decision by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu regarding the formation of the three-judge bench. Gachagua’s legal team argued successfully that the authority to empanel such a bench rests exclusively with the Chief Justice, a point later scrutinized by the Supreme Court.
While DCJ Mwilu had initially appointed Justices Eric Ogolla, Anthony Mrima, and Freda Mugambi, the High Court paused those proceedings following the appellate ruling.
In January 2026, the Supreme Court further cleared the way for the substantive appeal to be heard on its merits, dismissing Gachagua’s bid to halt High Court proceedings while striking out attempts to dismiss his cross-appeal.
