NAIROBI, Kenya May 22 – NAIROBI, Kenya, May 22 — Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s legal team, led by Senior Counsel Paul Muite, has urged a three-judge bench to closely examine the legality and constitutional fairness of the impeachment process.Muite made the plea during his final submissions before the bench led by Justice Eric Ogolla.Justice Ogolla announced that the court will deliver its judgment on June 8 after concluding hearings from the 41 petitioners challenging the impeachment process on grounds that constitutional and procedural requirements were not fully adhered to during the parliamentary proceedings held in October 2024.“On the basis of the political question and the right to a fair trial, this is a petition that I plead this honourable court should allow,” Muite submitted.The senior counsel also challenged the public participation exercise conducted during the impeachment process, arguing that it failed to meet the constitutional threshold under Articles 1, 10 and 118 of the Constitution.“The public participation here was quite simply a sham. My Lord, the first petitioner looks to you to grant him justice that was denied to him during the Senate impeachment proceedings. This case is about the people of Kenya because sovereignty belongs to them,” Muite argued.He further submitted that the court has powers under Article 23 of the Constitution to award damages in cases involving violations of fundamental rights and freedoms.“On the issue of emoluments, this is not a simple employer-employee dispute. This is a petition involving an elected official governed by Article 23, where the court is granted jurisdiction to award damages. I plead that you allow this petition, which will set a precedent not only for Rigathi Gachagua, but for future impeachment proceedings,” Muite stated.On the issue of timelines, Muite argued that the 10-day limit under Article 145 applies only to investigations conducted by a special committee and not to plenary proceedings in the Senate.He maintained that the Senate could have granted more time for the proceedings and noted that the Speaker had initially considered adjourning the matter until Saturday.Muite described the impeachment process as a “gross violation” and accused the Senate of denying Gachagua a fair hearing.“My Lord, the 10-day limitation, even on a plain reading of Article 145, under sub-article 4, was limited to the special committee carrying out investigations. As far as plenary proceedings were concerned, they would have proceeded under Article 159(8), where no timeline is prescribed,” he argued.