Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is now seeking full-term payment instead of reinstatement as the Deputy President in his impeachment case.

Through his legal team led by Paul Muite, on Thursday, May 29, 2025, Gachagua told the court he is still challenging the legality of his impeachment, only that he doesn’t want to be reinstated.

“The petitioner wishes to vigorously challenge the legality and constitutionality of his impeachment and will be seeking to persuade the court to accordingly set aside the impeachment case,” lawyer Muite told the court.

Appearing before a three-judge bench, the former DP also urged the court to grant him leave to amend the petition so as to seek compensation for the five years he was to be in the office.

“Further, he is seeking to persuade the court to grant him emoluments he would have earned for the entire five years of which he had been elected by the Kenyan people, plus, of course, the appropriate damages,” lawyer Muite told the court.

The three-judge bench comprising Justices Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima, and Freda Mugambi granted the request for leave to amend, stating that there was no objection to the application.

“In the issue arising in the application for amendment, we note that there is no objection to the stated petition, and we hereby grant the petitioner permission to amend it,” the three-judge bench ruled.

The bench has also directed all the parties to file their written submissions within 14 days, beginning with the applicant, and any rejoinders within seven days of submissions.

The Court of Appeal (CoA) on May 9, 2025, directed CJ Koome to appoint a bench within 14 days to determine Gachagua’s petition challenging his removal from office.

The CoA overturned Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu’s decision to appoint a three-judge bench to hear cases filed by the former deputy president.

In a judgment rendered by a three-judge bench comprising Justices Daniel Musinga, Mumbi Ngugi, and Francis Tuiyott, the court stated that Mwilu did not have constitutional powers to form a High Court bench to determine Gachagua’s impeachment petitions.

“The discretion granted to the Chief Justice by Article 165(4) to empanel a bench is a power solely granted to the Chief Justice. It is the Chief Justice, and she alone, who can decide the number of judges to assign to a matter,” the judges held in a unanimous decision.

They also ruled that only Chief Justice Martha Koome has the power to form an empanelled bench according to the Constitution, adding that her deputy could not purport to hold her fort in her absence.

Further, they directed Chief Justice Martha Koome to appoint another bench within 14 days, without giving an order barring the three judges from being included in the list of judges to be reappointed to determine the petitions.

Additionally, they stated that the decision on the number of judges that will be on the new bench—whether three or five—to hear the matters lies with CJ Koome.

This came after the appellant judges declined to compel the CJ to appoint a five-judge bench to hear the cases, as requested by Gachagua and his allies.

The decision followed Mwilu’s appointment, on October 18, 2024, of Judges Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima, and Fredah Mugambi to hear the consolidated petitions filed by Gachagua and others to stop Kithure Kindiki from replacing him as DP.

However, Gachagua, through his lawyers led by Paul Muite, argued that Mwilu was not the substantive CJ and could not exercise powers granted to CJ Koome by the Constitution.

Gachagua challenged the appointment of Judges Ogola, Mugambi, and Mrima to oversee his cases, arguing that they should not hear and determine petitions challenging his removal from office by the Senate, as they were not properly constituted.

However, on May 23, 2025, Chief Justice Martha Koome retained the same bench that her deputy, Philomena Mwilu, had previously selected to hear petitions on the impeachment of Gachagua.