Gachagua outlines next steps as he rubbishes Sh50M payment

The Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader, Rigathi Gachagua, has rejected the Sh50 million award issued by the High Court, describing it as a mockery of his fundamental rights and the constitution.

On Monday, June 8, the High Court upheld Gachagua’s impeachment and ordered the Senate to pay him Sh50 million in constitutional damages for violating his right to a fair trial during his impeachment.

Gachagua said that if he were interested in money, he would have accepted President William Ruto's offer of Sh2 billion to resign during his tenure as Deputy President.

In a press conference held on Tuesday, June 9, the former DP explained that his pursuit of justice was his motive to seek legal redress and hence no amount of money could sway him.

‘’The Sh50 million awarded to me is an insult to my fundamental rights and freedoms and a mockery of the constitution. We are not interested. Money was not the issue, justice and supremacy were. I am a leader who cannot be swayed by promises of money to allow violation of the constitution,’’ he said.

‘’No amount of money can stand between me, my rights and Kenyans. If I were interested in money, Mr Ruto had offered me Sh2billion in an effort to entice me to avoid impeachment and opt for resignation. But I stood for my rights and that of over 7 million Kenyans who voted for me.I rejected this offer and faced the National Assembly,’’ Gachagua added.

The DCP party leader further questioned the decision by the three-judge bench for upholding the impeachment despite ruling that his right to a fair trial was violated.

‘’The 3 judge bench was obligated by operation of the law on the determination of a violation of the constitution to set aside the impeachment . The decision by the bench to purport to uphold the impeachment is in itself a violation.’’

‘’ We strongly observe that the impeachment process was found faulty by the 3-judge bench for failure to respect my right to fair hearing.Once the determination was made, everything collapsed and was null and void.There was no impeachment. Theirs was a constitutional coup, an abuse of the people independent Kenya,’’ he authoritatively stated. 

Gachagua’s legal team, led by Senior Counsel Paul Muite, would file an appeal at the appellate court, arguing that once the high court established that his rights under Articles 25, 47, and 50 of the constitution were breached, the entire process should have been declared null and void.