Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina, on Friday, May 22, confronted a lawyer representing the National Assembly over claims that she interfered with public participation during former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment.
The matter arose during court proceedings challenging the legality of the impeachment process, where lawyer Moses Kipkogei defended the National Assembly’s handling of public participation forums countrywide.
Kipkogei argued that Parliament met the constitutional threshold required for public participation, both in terms of quality and quantity, and further claimed that apart from alleged disruptions in Kirinyaga, the exercise was largely peaceful nationwide.
The lawyer accused Maina, who is also the third petitioner in the case and part of Gachagua’s legal team, of shutting down her office in Kirinyaga before seeking court orders to stop the exercise.
According to him, the closure prevented members of the public from submitting their views on the impeachment motion.
However, Maina strongly rejected the claims, terming them false and inconsistent with the facts already filed in court. “My lord, my lady, he blatantly lied to this court,” the MP said during her submissions.
She also accused the lawyer of attempting to paint Kirinyaga County as disorganised during the public participation exercise, despite reputable sources indicating otherwise.
Maina cited a National Assembly report dated October 8, 2024, which listed areas where political interference was reported, including Murang’a and Nyeri counties, maintaining that Kirinyaga County was not among them.
“For the record, and just for the public that is watching us, I have never instigated, funded, organised, or even supported chaos, not only in Kirinyaga County, but anywhere in this great republic,” she told the court.
The MP further pointed to the same parliamentary report showing that public participation proceeded at the Kirinyaga Central NG-CDF offices, where 14 people reportedly took part in the exercise.
The consolidated petition before Justices Ogolla, Mrima and Mugambi brings together seven petitions filed by 41 individuals, all challenging the constitutionality of the process that led to Gachagua’s removal from office.
The Senate upheld the impeachment in a 54 to 13 vote on the night of October 17, 2024, a vote that took place while Gachagua was admitted to the hospital and unable to attend the proceedings.
Gachagua has since dropped his prayer for reinstatement as Deputy President, with his legal team now seeking compensation and damages exceeding Ksh450 million.