DP Gachagua taken ill, impeachment trial suspended

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who was undergoing an impeachment trial at the Senate, has been taken ill.

His lawyers, led by Senior Counsel Paul Muite, on Thursday afternoon informed the House that Mr Gachagua, who attended the Wednesday and Thursday morning sessions, had been admitted to a Nairobi hospital, and was not available to be cross-examined.

“The position is that when I tried to get him, the sad reality is that the DP has been taken sick and as I address, he is in hospital,” Mr Muite told the House. 

“Give me the rest of the day to check on his situation and come back here at 5pm.”

After the lunch break, the DP was set to take to the witness stand for cross-examination by National Assembly lawyers.

National Assembly lawyers asked Speaker Amason Kingi to make a ruling on the matter, saying the impeachment trial was time-bound.

“These proceedings are time-bound. It's not about the situation the DP finds himself in but it's about the Senate complying with the provisions of the Constitution that they must make a decision within a certain timeline,” Senior Counsel James Orengo said.

Consequently, Mr Kingi suspended the House proceedings for an hour and directed that the House reconvene at 5pm.

“The proceedings stand suspended until 5pm when the DP will be expected to take to the witness stand. This is a time-bound process. It's so ordered,” he ruled.

The Speaker said that given that impeachment trial is a time-bound process, there were two likely options out of the situation the House finds itself in: Proceed with the trial without further reference to the accused, or push the hearing to a later date to give Mr Gachagua another chance to testify.