Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has ruled that Siaya Governor James Orengo will continue representing the National Assembly in the impeachment trial of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, dismissing objections raised by Gachagua's legal team.
Senate impeachment trial against DP Gachagua is off to a rocky start for the deputy president
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi
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During the proceedings, lawyer Ndegwa Njiru, representing Gachagua, contested Orengo's role, arguing that the Senior Counsel's position as a serving governor made him legally ineligible to participate in the trial.
“We are raising an objection to the appearance of Senior Counsel Orengo to represent the National Assembly. He is a full-time serving State officer and is legally barred from engaging in gainful employment.
"It will be prejudicial to our client if this House was to allow Orengo to represent the National Assembly in these proceedings,” Njiru argued.
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Siaya Governor James Orengo
Siaya Governor James Orengo
Pulse Live Kenya
Orengo, a seasoned politician and lawyer, was appointed to lead the National Assembly’s legal team in the high-stakes impeachment trial of Gachagua, sparking a legal debate about the constitutionality of his involvement.
Countering Njiru's claims, lawyer Eric Gumbo, representing the National Assembly, defended Orengo’s appointment, arguing that the Constitution of Kenya allows state officers to represent clients if there is no proof of financial gain.
"The Constitution of Kenya at Article 77 is the primary law that then speaks to the restrictions on activities of state officers. There has been no assertion that learned Senior Counsel James Orengo, by representing a party before this House, has participated in gainful employment," Gumbo stated.
In his ruling, Speaker Kingi sided with the National Assembly’s legal team, stating that no evidence had been presented to prove Orengo’s involvement in “gainful employment” through the case.
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As such, Kingi ruled that Orengo’s participation as lead counsel in the trial would continue.
The trial, which has drawn national attention, now proceeds with Orengo firmly in place as the legal representative for the National Assembly in the impeachment proceedings.
Speaker Kingi also dismissed another objection by DP Gachagua's lawyers who wanted the National Assembly to be barred from relying on an affidavit made by businessman Peterson Njomo Muchira who claimed to have key evidence regarding the ongoing impeachment motion.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua arrived in the Senate as his impeachment trial begins
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua arrived in the Senate as his impeachment trial begins
Pulse Live Kenya
The affidavit, submitted on October 11, 2024, raised questions about the Deputy President's involvement in the acquisition of assets linked to his deceased brother, Nderitu Gachagua.
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Muchira, a shareholder and director of TM Civil Engineering Limited, revealed in the affidavit his personal knowledge of a secret arrangement between himself and the Deputy President regarding the sale of Olive Garden Hotel, a property initially part of the late Nderitu Gachagua’s estate.
According to the document, Gachagua convinced Muchira in March 2023 to purchase the hotel.
Muchira said that the sale of Olive Garden Hotel was part of a secret deal in which Rigathi Gachagua allegedly agreed to refund the purchase price of Sh412 million to him.
However, Gachagua's lawyers argued that this document was not part of the initial documents used in the National Assembly. They objected that allowing the National Assembly to rely on the document would be introducing new evidence which goes against the law.
However, the Speaker said that the document did not amount to new evidence and was supporting material that had already been filed.
