The High Court in Kerugoya has barred Kithure Kindiki from assuming office as Deputy President pending the hearing of a case against his nomination.
The case was filed by David Munyi Mathenge and Peter Gichobi Kamotho who sought orders after the National Assembly approved the nomination of Kindiki. This was just a day after the Senate impeached Rigathi Gachagua.
Mathenge and Kamotho have sued the Senate, the Speaker of the Senate, and two others. The duo’s petition was certified as urgent and filed before Justice Mwongo Richard Mururu.
In a ruling, Justice Mururu noted that the case raises significant national importance. “The matters raised in the petition are of great national importance and urgency,” he stated.
He said, “In the court’s considered view, having raised extremely substantial issues of law, the matter is certified for a bench of High Court Judges to be appointed by the Hon. Chief Justice.”
Justice Mururu issued conservatory orders. “Conservatory orders are hereby issued against implementation of the resolution of the Senate,” he said. This stops any person including Kindiki from assuming the office of Deputy President.
The case will be mentioned before the High Court bench on October 24, 2024. The same view has also been expressed by the High Court in Nairobi.
The Nairobi court has barred Kindiki’s appointment pending the hearing of a related case next week. In a similar move, the court said both the appointment of Kindiki and the Senate’s resolution on Gachagua’s impeachment were suspended until October 24.
He was impeached on grounds of five out of the eleven charges levied against him. These include gross violations of the constitution and instigating ethnic hatred. Gachagua has denied all the accusations, terming them political.
