DP Kindiki Schools Gachagua Over CJ Martha Koome's Removal
In a subtle critique of Gachagua, the Deputy President questioned who would stand up for judges accused of misconduct but without influential ethnic backers to defend them.
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki offered his opinion on Monday, February 24, regarding the debate surrounding the removal of Chief Justice Martha Koome and other judges of the Supreme Court of Kenya.
A day after his predecessor, Rigathi Gachagua, criticized President William Ruto over the same matter in a fiery rant, Kindiki emphasized in a statement that the removal of a judge is a constitutional process rather than a political one.
"Removal of a judge from office is purely a constitutional matter and not a political or ethnic issue.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki speaking at Senator Danson Mungatana's thanksgiving ceremony in Tana River County on December 20, 2024. /KITHURE KINDIKI
"Accusers and defenders of judges must use constitutional and legal arguments to state their positions rather than trivializing such a weighty legal matter by bringing ethnicity into the equation. Who will defend the judges who may be innocent but do not have ethnic godfathers?" he wrote on X.
Gachagua, who spoke during a church service at AIPCA Antubetwe Kiongo Church in Igembe North, Meru County, on Sunday, February 23, urged Ruto not to initiate the ouster and notified him of the consequences should he ever consider setting foot in Meru.
“These Meru people have been taken for granted for too long. It must come to an end. The President has planned to remove Chief Justice Martha Koome. He began with Rigathi Gachagua, he impeached him. He then kicked out Mithika Linturi. He has now planned a tribunal to kick out Martha Koome. He has organised with the courts and bribed people to kick out Koome," he revealed.
"He wants that when he kicks out these people he finishes off all businesses of the people of Mt Kenya. But I want to tell the President that if you kick out Martha Koome, do not set foot in Meru. You impeached Rigathi Gachagua and the Mt Kenya people kept quiet, you thought they were cowards. We are telling you, Mr President, you go ahead and remove Martha Koome as you stay in Nairobi and never set foot in Meru again!"
Gachagua reiterated his threat to lead demonstrations against the government in places such as Meru if CJ Koome is removed from office before her term is completed.
His passionate speech in Meru regarding President Ruto's alleged plan to remove CJ Koome has sparked numerous reactions, reigniting the debate.
For months, former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi, along with senior advocates like Ahmednasir Abdullahi, has advocated for restructuring the apex court and the removal of CJ Koome and its six other judges.
Consequently, Havi criticized Gachagua for targeting the President in his remarks, urging him instead to direct his attacks at him, as it was "his battle."
"Why is Rigathi Gachagua threatening President William Ruto over the removal of the recalcitrant Martha Koome from office?" Havi asked.
"Let him threaten and order protests against me. I have been consistent on the unsuitability of Koome from the day she applied for the office of CJ. It is my war."
Attempts to unseat Koome have so far faced obstacles. Although petitions for the removal of all seven judges have been filed, the High Courts in Narok and Nairobi have issued conservatory orders preventing the Judiciary Service Commission (JSC) from taking any action on them.
