‘No surrender!’ Gachagua legal team vows fresh litigation in court

Impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's legal team has vowed another round of fresh legal battle to overturn his Thursday night ouster.

Lawyer Victor Swanya, one of the lead attorneys acting for Mr Gachagua during the Senate impeachment trial said they are not hanging the boots yet.

"As would be instructed by our client, we shall be in court to mount a historical defense against the impeachment. Generally, as observed by most Kenyans today, none of the said 11 counts was sufficiently proved by either the National Assembly or the Senate," stated Mr Swanya via phone.

The Deputy President faced 11 charges including corruption, inciting ethnic divisions and undermining government--all of which he denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Gachagua stood before both Houses as the charges were read out to him.

He turned up at the Senate once, but was taken ill as he was awaited to mount second defense.

News of his impeachment caught him as he was being treated in hospital on Thursday.

Mr Swanya said it was callous that the Senate went ahead with the the impeachment proceedings as Mr Gachagua was being attended to in hospital.

"We had invoked article 145(b) to request that the motion be stayed till Tuesday next week so that he could come and give his defense, but they turned the request down.

"Each Kenyan has a constitutional right and it was wrong that his rights were flouted with impunity," the former Wiper Party Leader told AVDelta News.

He described the entire impeachment process as a sham and done to satiate the expediency of the state.

"We hope that his rights would be protected by the courts having failed to get them from parliament and the Senate. In fact they both predetermined to make this decision.

“All the same we will mount up a fresh petition, as instructed by the client, to ensue that the rights of our client are protected,” stated Mr Swanya.