The Supreme Court of Kenya has rejected Rigathi Gachagua’s impeachment case suspension request which now enables High Court proceedings to continue without interruption.
The five-judge bench, which Chief Justice Martha Koome led, declared the apex court lacks the authority to address cases presently before the High Court on January 30, 2026. The judges explained that the Supreme Court can issue stay orders for cases that are currently before the Court of Appeal but not for active High Court cases, which operate to deny Gachagua’s request to suspend the impeachment proceedings.
Gachagua requested the High Court to postpone its examination of multiple petitions that were filed to contest his impeachment based on constitutional arguments that included challenges to the legitimacy of the judicial panel and claims of procedural misconduct. The Supreme Court received a request from his legal team to remove essential documents and nullify the National Assembly’s appeal because they believed that proceeding without a break would make any positive judgment worthless.
The Supreme Court rejected both consolidated applications because the court confirmed that any intervention at this point would interfere with the established appellate procedure while it breached constitutional restrictions on its jurisdiction. The justices determined that the Supreme Court must follow intermediate appellate procedures because the case remains pending before the High Court.
The original High Court bench, whose constitutionality Gachagua’s lawyers questioned, had rejected challenges to its composition, holding that the Deputy Chief Justice acted within her administrative powers when constituting the panel. The Court of Appeal ruling established that only the Chief Justice possesses the authority to create such judicial panels, which added new difficulties to the ongoing court case.
The High Court will restart Gachigua’s impeachment case because of this ruling, which limits his options for obtaining legal assistance. The decision creates an intense constitutional battle in Kenya which will lead to important developments that will impact both political and legal matters in the country.
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