Rigathi Gachagua has rejected the KSh 50 million compensation awarded to him by the High Court following its finding that his right to a fair hearing was violated during the impeachment process.
Addressing the media on June 9, the leader of the Democracy for the Citizens Party described the award as inadequate and said his legal battle has always been about justice and constitutionalism rather than financial compensation.
“The KSh 50 million awarded to me is an insult to my fundamental rights and freedoms and a mockery of the Constitution. We are not interested. Money was not the issue; justice and constitutional supremacy was,” Gachagua stated.
The former Deputy President further claimed that while still in office, William Ruto allegedly offered him KSh 2 billion to resign instead of facing impeachment proceedings. Gachagua said he declined the purported offer because he wanted to defend both his constitutional rights and the mandate of the millions of Kenyans who voted for him.
“If I were interested in money, Mr Ruto had offered me KSh 2 billion in an effort to entice me to avoid impeachment and opt for resignation. I rejected this offer and faced the National Assembly,” he claimed.
Gachagua also criticized the High Court’s decision to uphold his impeachment while simultaneously finding that his rights to a fair hearing had been violated. According to him, once the court determined that constitutional rights had been breached, the impeachment process should have been declared invalid in its entirety.
He argued that the finding of a violation under Articles 25, 47 and 50 of the Constitution should have automatically nullified the process that led to his removal from office.
The former Deputy President announced that his legal team, led by Paul Muite, will challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
“We shall proceed to file an appeal at the Court of Appeal on the decision and hope that justice shall prevail,” he said.
The dispute stems from a recent High Court judgment that upheld Gachagua’s impeachment and the subsequent appointment of Kithure Kindiki as Deputy President, while also awarding Gachagua damages after finding that aspects of the impeachment proceedings violated his right to a fair trial.
The appeal is expected to reignite legal and political debate over the interpretation of constitutional protections, due process requirements, and the threshold for removing a Deputy President from office.
