By Frank Kamuntu
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua fell ill and was rushed to hospital just minutes after he was set to take the stand.
His lawyer Paul Muite told the Senate that his client had been taken ill following a lunch break at the impeachment trial. Today is when the Senators were expected to vote on the 11 charges facing Gachagua.
Muite told the Senate, “The sad reality is that the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya has been taken very sick, and as I address Mr Speaker and this House, he is in the hospital.”
He added, “That is the sad reality.” Muite has not revealed what hospital the country’s second in command has been rushed to, or what ailment he is suffering from.
The news sent the Senate into tailwinds as it sought to find a way out of the unprecedented situation. Moments after the news broke, Senators could be seen consulting each other as they talked.
Speaker Kingi was in conversation with the leaders of the Upper House as they planned on what to do next.
Gachagua’s defense team has asked the Senate to grant him time to visit and evaluate the situation before reporting back to the House on the condition of Gachagua. “My proposal is that you give me at least the rest of the day to go and have an assessment of his (Deputy President) situation and maybe even come back here by 5pm,” Muiite told the Senate.
The National Assembly legal team, however, opposed this, arguing that this process is time-bound and therefore should continue. However, the Speaker decided to suspend the sitting and return at 5pm.
“We are facing a very unprecedented situation. My directions are as follows; that we will suspend this sitting and resume at exactly 5. We expect the Deputy President to take the stand at that time. This is a time-bound process, unfortunately. It is so ordered,” Kingi ruled.
This revelation comes after a puzzle of his disappearance at the Senate as the House resumed for the afternoon session. Gachagua was expected to take the stand as his own witness in the case that seeks to oust him.
“The DP was going to take the stand. We came in here, I communicated the programme for the afternoon, and I said we are going to execute it with military precision owing to the fact that we needed to conclude business today. SC Paul Muite indicated that he cannot get hold of his client, that is not the concern of this house, so time is running out. The floor is available to the DP and no other Senator,” stated Speaker Kingi.
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