The National Assembly sent ominous signs about the future of impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua by painting him as a man who had taken advantage of his dying brother to make a fortune.

It was a battle royale in the Senate as Gachagua’s lawyers put up a spirited fight to debunk claims that the DP was a beneficiary of corruption and that he actively participated in the politics of division in favour of Mt Kenya.

The DP’s accusers also claimed that he had violated laws related to national integration.

Siaya Governor James Orengo yesterday tabled evidence showing that the DP flew to London in February 2017 to extract a Will from his late brother, Nderitu Gachagua, who was lying critically ill at Royal Marsden Hospital.

Interested person

Orengo, who led the National Assembly’s legal team in the impeachment trial, told shocked senators that the DP arrived in London on February 16, 2017 and went straight to the hospital specifically to influence his brother into writing the Will.

“Sometime in February 2017, the Deputy President went to London where his brother was admitted in the ICU. When he arrived the next day, he prevailed upon his brother to execute a Will,” Orengo said.

“In that trip, there was no evidence at all that he tried to talk to doctors and physicians who were looking after his brother. After that visit, he walked away and seven days later his brother died.”

In the Will, Gachagua was listed as the executor, Orengo stated, demonstrating why the DP was an interested person in the matter.

The veteran lawyer said Gachagua managed to secure the Will the following day, on February 17, before flying back to Kenya. Nderitu Gachagua would die on February 24, barely a week later, senators heard.

Orengo spoke as the Senate opened proceedings to determine whether to uphold or reject the National Assembly’s decision to impeach the DP.

Earlier in the day, a three-judge High Court bench comprising justices Eric Ogola, Anthony Mrima and Freda Mugambi rejected Gachagua’s attempt to block the Senate from hearing the impeachment motion, leaving him at the mercy of senators. 

Quoting Bible

Initial attempts by Gachagua’s lawyers to have Orengo blocked from representing the National Assembly – on the grounds that he, as Siaya governor, was a State officer – were thwarted by Speaker Amason Kingi, who ruled that the governor was not a State officer.

Besides Orengo, the National Assembly’s team comprised senior counsel and Rarieda MP Otiende Amolo, Eric Gumbo, Muthomi Thiankolu, Peter Wanyama, Paul Nyamodi, Bungoma Senator John Makali, Mombasa Woman Representative Zamzam Mohamed and Tharaka MP George Murugara.

On Gachagua’s side were senior counsel Paul Muite, Elisha Ongoya and Victor Swanya, among others.

Quoting a verse in the Bible that warns individuals against inflicting pain upon widows and the fatherless lest they attract God’s wrath, Orengo tabled evidence to demonstrate how Gachagua, using the Will, proceeded to take over his late brother’s properties.

Orengo, who was making his team’s opening statement, noted that Gachagua’s visit to London was specifically to obtain the Will as there was no evidence that he engaged doctors and physicians attending to his late brother.

Said Orengo: “On page 113 of the evidence provided, it shows what flight he took and the time he arrived. On the 16th, he arrived in London, on the 17th, he got a Will signed and there was no further business in his activities in London until on 24th when he was present when his brother died.”

In his submissions, Orengo explained that Gachagua used his brother’s proceeds to enrich himself at the expense of the late man’s family members.

Upon his brother’s death, Orengo said, Gachagua withdrew money from bank accounts on diverse dates, with part of it being deposited to Wamunyoro Investments, one of the companies associated with the DP.

Sale by proxy

The millions, Orengo said, were used to acquire Treetops Hotel and Outspan Hotel, both in Nyeri county, for more than Sh800 million.

He said: “In the evidence given, his co-executors, Mr Mathenge and Mr Regeru, are complaining about him, that he transferred some funds to various accounts. To be specific, on the date the late Nderitu Gachagua died, the Deputy President Gachagua was already transferring money from his account. On 19th May again, more money was withdrawn and paid to Wamunyoro Investments.”

He added: “From what I have said, the way his brother’s accounts were raided, that was continued to the time when his guidance was acquired for a sale by proxy of Sh412 million.

“He bought property in Nyeri, the Outspan and Treetops (hotels), for an amount exceeding Sh800 million. We are saying that part of that money was not from him but he was raising money that truly belongs to the estate of his late brother to acquire property.”

Orengo tore into Gachagua, claiming that he displayed acts of insubordination to the appointing authority as he had failed to do what he was tasked to do, preached the gospel of Kenya being a company with shareholders against his oath of office, which dictates that he serve all Kenyans impartially.

He said: “It is critical that we look at the authority of the office of the Deputy President vis-a-vis that of the President. This is absolute insubordination of the President, who is his boss.”

He went on: “The Constitution and the Senate is aware of the fact that every five years, you pass a basis of sharing revenue. This issue about certain areas being preferred because they are shareholders goes against certain provisions of the Constitution. The notion that some people can be appointed on the basis that they are shareholders is unacceptable.”

Gachgua’s talk about shareholders “is repugnant and in conflict with the provisions of the Constitution. I would like to say this with all the seriousness it deserves. This Constitution must work and can only work when all the State officers are compliant with it.”

Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse, the mover of the motion in the National Assembly, and the first witness to take the stand yesterday, also demonstrated how Gachagua engaged in money laundering, preached the gospel of shareholding and acquired properties illegally.