Kenya’s Supreme Court has dismissed former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s application to halt his impeachment proceedings in the High Court. The unanimous ruling came from a five-judge bench. This allows the case to proceed without interference.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua suffered a setback in his impeachment battle when Kenya’s Supreme Court dismissed his application to pause proceedings in the High Court. The ruling, delivered on January 30, 2026, came unanimously from a five-judge bench led by Chief Justice Martha Koome, alongside Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu and Justices Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, and Isaac Lenaola.
The apex court clarified that it can only grant stay orders for proceedings in the Court of Appeal, not the High Court. “The first omnibus application by Hon. Gachagua is dismissed for the reasons that the Supreme Court can only stay proceedings before the Court of Appeal and not the High Court as prayed for,” the court stated.
Gachagua’s first application sought to halt High Court proceedings, strike out an appeal, and expunge certain documents. The second, filed by the National Assembly, aimed to dismiss Gachagua’s cross-appeal.
Earlier petitions in the High Court had challenged the Deputy Chief Justice’s authority to select the judges and sought their disqualification over alleged bias. The High Court rejected these, ruling that the Deputy Chief Justice acted within her administrative powers and no evidence supported disqualification.
The Court of Appeal later held that selecting High Court benches is the Chief Justice’s exclusive prerogative and generally not delegable. It upheld the High Court’s decision on disqualification, finding the evidence insufficient.
The Supreme Court dismissed both applications, noting the documents in question were essential to the appeal and cross-appeal. “The documents sought to be expunged are integral to the determination of the appeal before the Supreme Court and were referred to by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal in their determination of the dispute,” the court affirmed.
“The second application by the National Assembly is dismissed for the reason that the cross appeal by Gachagua equally does not fall within the parameters of summary dismissal,” it added.
This paves the way for Gachagua’s impeachment case to continue unimpeded by the Supreme Court.
