National Assembly counsel James Orengo has raised doubts about the credibility of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s reported illness, suggesting it might be a tactic to avoid his anticipated impeachment grilling.

Speaking before the Senate on Thursday, October 17, 2024, during the second hearing of the impeachment case, Orengo voiced his concerns about the lack of concrete evidence regarding Gachagua’s health condition.

Orengo, who leads the National Assembly’s case in the impeachment proceedings, emphasized the absence of medical documents to support claims of the Deputy President’s admission to a hospital.

He pointed out that despite assertions by Senior Counsel Paul Muite, who spoke on behalf of the embattled deputy president, no details about the medical institution or the nature of the illness had been provided.

“I want to talk to this Senate frankly. Senior Counsel Paul Muite was giving evidence. But for DP to fail to bring credible evidence before the House that he has been admitted… even that evidence that he has been admitted, we don’t have it. It might be opportunistic in the absence of evidence from a doctor,” Orengo declared.

Orengo expressed frustration over the inability to cross-examine Gachagua, saying it hampered the Senate’s ability to thoroughly assess the evidence.

“I think we should have had one of the doctors here at least to tell us about his illness and his admission because up to 1:15 PM, the DP was here; he was not evacuated from here in an ambulance,” Orengo stated, casting further doubt on the legitimacy of Gachagua’s sudden illness. “He went to Karen Hospital by himself to check in.”

The Senior Counsel stressed the importance of adhering to the Constitution and allowing the process to run its course while lamenting the missed opportunity to challenge Gachagua’s testimony directly.

“We are time-bound; we are ready to go with the evidence on record. The prejudice is to us. The sickness of the DP is affecting us more because we would want to cross-examine him, but he has evidence on record that we cannot test,” Orengo concluded.

Gachagua’s silliness

According to Gachagua’s lead Counsel Paul Muite, he is suffering from severe chest pains.

Gachagua was unable to appear before the Senate as a witness on Thursday, October 17, 2024, due to his health condition, as his legal team explained to the senators. Consequently, Senate Speaker Amason Kingi adjourned the Thursday afternoon session, planning to resume at 5 PM, when the Deputy President was expected to testify.