NAIROBI, Kenya| The Court of Appeal in Kenya has reinstated His Excellency Rigathi Gachagua as the Deputy President of Kenya. The court ruled that Deputy Chief Justice Philomona Mwiru had no powers to appoint the bench of judges to hear petitions challenging his removal.

The court held that DCJ Mwiru lacked the power under Article 165(4) of the Constitution to assign Justices Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima, and Freidah Mugambi to preside over consolidated petitions filed by Gachagua.

The court presided over by Justices Daniel Musinga, Mumbi Nungi and Francis Tuiyott declared that the three-judge bench which lifted stay orders against Gachagua’s impeachment and declared the way for the swearing in of Prof.Kithure Kindiki was constituted illegally.

The court ruled that only the Chief Justice can constitute such a bench, and even then only with clear and cogent reasons, and that the powers to empanel judges cannot be delegated casually or without a transparent legal framework.

After judgement, the files will now have to be placed before the Chief Justice, who has 14 days to properly constitute a bench to hear the matter.

The dispute arose from Mwiru’s October 18, 2024, appointment of the three-judge bench. Gachagua challenged the appointment, arguing that Mwiru was not the substantive Chief Justice and had not taken an oath as Acting Chief Justice.