Gachagua To Go To Supreme Court To Seek Removal Of High Court Judge

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has announced that he will move to file a petition before Chief Justice Martha Koome at the Supreme Court of Kenya seeking the removal of Justice Esther Maina.

Gachagua, who spoke on Sunday, January 14 during a church service in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County attended by President William Ruto, revealed that he would file a petition against Justice Maina on Thursday, January 18.

He explained that he was aggrieved by the judge's decision to declare his wealth as proceeds of crime in what he termed an act of misconduct and corruption, adding that he was not given a chance to be heard.

"I will lead by example on Thursday this coming week. I will personally present a petition before CJ Koome against Justice Esther Maina for her removal from the Judiciary for misconduct and corruption. She declared my hard-earned wealth as proceeds of crime without allowing me to be heard," he announced.

Continuing the government's onslaught against the Judiciary, Gachagua accused the third arm of the government of harbouring corrupt judicial officers and failing to act on evidence allegedly linking them to acts of corruption.

As a result, he mobilised Kenyans to join him and file similar petitions for any burning issues against the Judiciary.

"We would like to ask CJ Koome how many complaints have been filed against judicial officers, how many she has dealt with, and what is the timeline to conclude those petitions she has challenged us to give evidence", Gachagua stated.

It was Justice Maina whose ruling in July 2022 saw Gachagua compelled to surrender Ksh202 million to the government.

At the time, the Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi found that the millions were frozen by the State in his bank accounts after it was found to amount to proceeds of corruption.

Justice Esther Maina ruled that the former Mathira MP confessed to acquiring the funds from government agencies but there was no supporting evidence to reveal that he supplied any services or goods.

However, in February 2023, Gachagua was handed a sigh of relief after the millions surrendered to the government were handed back to him.

The Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) stated that upon gathering new evidence, it found that the money which was forfeited to the state on July 28, 2022, was not proceeds of crime and that Gachagua has explained the source and legitimacy of the said money to satisfaction.