The Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, has explained why he believes the Court of Appeal could overturn the KSh 50 million compensation awarded in connection with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment case.
In a statement shared on X, Itumbi argued that the court did not admit medical evidence presented by Dr. Gikonyo of Karen Hospital, which had been used to support claims that Gachagua was unwell during the Senate impeachment proceedings.
According to Itumbi, the rejection of the medical documents significantly weakens the legal foundation of the compensation award.
“The Court did not admit the medical evidence presented by Dr. Gikonyo of Karen Hospital,” Itumbi stated.
He further noted that without admissible medical evidence, there was no proof on record demonstrating that Gachagua was genuinely unwell at the time the Senate proceedings were underway.
“As a result, there is no admissible or probative medical evidence on the record establishing that Jofri was unwell at the material time,” he said.
Itumbi argued that because the evidence was rejected, the Senate was justified in declining a request to adjourn the impeachment proceedings.
“Without such evidence, the Senate was entitled to decline the request for adjournment, as there was no evidentiary basis before it to justify postponing the proceedings,” he explained.
He further stated that the court’s finding on the inadmissibility of the medical evidence supports the position that the Senate acted reasonably based on the information available at the time.
“Indeed, the Court’s finding that the medical evidence was inadmissible reinforces the position that the Senate acted reasonably on the material available to it at the time,” Itumbi wrote.
According to Itumbi, this creates strong legal grounds for the Court of Appeal to overturn the KSh 50 million compensation award.
“Consequently, there are strong grounds for the Court of Appeal to overturn the KSh 50 million award,” he added.
