Aaron Cheruiyot: Senate to appeal court ruling on Gachagua impeachment
By Emmanuel Rono, June 9, 2026The Senate Majority leader, Aaron Cheruiyot, has stated that the Senate will appeal part of the High Court ruling on the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, insisting that the House accorded him a fair hearing during the proceedings.
In a statement on his X account on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, Cheruiyot maintained that senators allowed Gachagua to present his case both orally and through written submissions filed before the House.
“As the Senate, we shall definitely appeal the High Court’s finding on fair trial. We accorded Gachagua the opportunity to be heard orally and via his filed submissions,” Cheruiyot said.
The Majority Leader argued that Gachagua opted to employ delaying tactics during the impeachment process, a move he said the Senate declined to entertain.
“He chose, as most impeached persons do when they appear before the Senate, to deploy delay tactics. We said no,” he added.
The High Court decision
The High Court has upheld the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua but awarded him Ksh50 million in damages, finding that senators violated his right to a fair hearing during the proceedings.
In a judgment delivered on Monday, June 8, 2026, the court ruled that while the impeachment itself met the constitutional threshold and would stand, aspects of the process fell short of fair trial standards guaranteed under the Constitution.
The bench found that members of the Senate proceeded with hearings despite requests for an adjournment on medical grounds, concluding that the refusal to pause proceedings amounted to a violation of Gachagua’s right to a fair hearing.
The court said that although Parliament has broad constitutional authority to oversee and remove state officers, that power must be exercised in accordance with due process protections, including the right of an accused official to adequately participate in proceedings affecting their office and rights.
As a result, the court ordered the Senate to pay Ksh50 million in compensation for the breach, even as it declined to overturn the impeachment outcome itself.