Nairobi: Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s lawyers are making every effort to save his political career, which is currently hanging by a thread.
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However, one of Gachagua’s lawyers, Ndegwa Njiru, became the center of attention at the High Court when the judges confronted him with tough questions.
How was Lawyer Ndegwa cornered?
The situation began when Gachagua’s lawyers filed an application requesting the recusal of the three judges, citing conflicts of interest.
Lawyer Ndegwa questioned the court’s impartiality, arguing that one of the judges, Eric Ogolla, has close ties to his spouse, who serves in the Water Towers Agency.
This argument raised questions in the courtroom, with many, including the judges, questioning whether there was an issue with Judge Ogolla being close to his wife.
“Let me get it right, you mean the judge is closely associated with the wife?” Justice Mrima asked.
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“No, I didn’t say that,” Lawyer Ndegwa quickly retracted his statement, prompting the entire courtroom to burst into laughter.
Ndegwa clarified his argument by asserting that Justice Ogolla has close ties to President William Ruto, thereby questioning the court’s fairness.
He further claimed that Ruto assisted Ogolla’s wife in securing a position at the Kenya Water Towers Agency through former Environment CS Soipan Tuya.
“How can a fair bystander be convinced that this court will dispense with substantive justice. How can it be said that this court is impartial. The question of a spouse being linked to a judge as indicated by rules 47 is of paramount importance and something that cannot be ignored. Why didn’t the court disclose to us,” Ndegwa argued.
When was Ndegwa pushed to read?
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Ndegwa further argued that the three-judge bench was constituted for a specific purpose and is part of a conspiracy.
Additionally, he informed the court that he wished to withdraw paragraphs 10 and 16 of his application.
This prompted questions, with Justice Ogola demanding to know why the paragraphs should be removed. Ogola further requested that he read aloud the contents of those paragraphs.
“Read us paragraph 10 and 16 which you want to withdraw. So we can consider if it can be withdrawn. Let him read those paragraphs so that he can sit down,”Ogola said.
When they noticed his hesitation, those in the courtroom began pushing him to read aloud what he intended to withdraw.
“The petition has credible information that honourable Mrima is a close associate to the proposed deputy president Kithure Kindiki and the said judge refused or neglected to disclose those facts to the parties at the inception,” Ndegwa read out loud part of the paragraphs
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However, he argued that he sought to expunge the paragraphs because he believed they were not accurate.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
