.jpg)
The High Court has ordered the National Assembly to conduct a second round of public participation in the impeachment motion against Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
In his ruling on Thursday, Kerugoya Law Courts judge Justice Richard Mwongo deemed that the public participation stage must involve all Kenyans' views and should not be conducted as a formality.
The judge stated that every public participation process must be clear for the public to understand, have simple structures, offer a balanced influence from the public, and be inclusive and transparent.
He highlighted that the public must be informed beforehand of the process and subject.
As a result, he directed that the public participation, which kicked off on Friday, October 4, proceed as planned and be termed the first stage.
Did you read this?
However, he directed another round of public participation at constituency levels to enable all Kenyans to offer their views.
"The Parliament shall organise similar public hearings closer to the citizens at least at the constituency level on each constituency in Kenya to enable the constituents of Members of Parliament responsible for the impeachment process nationally to engage level can participate and offer their representations," the ruling read in part.
The orders come after Kirinyaga Women Representative Njeri Maina filed a petition challenging the effectiveness of the public participation exercise scheduled for Friday.
In her petition, she indicated that the notice period for public hearing was too short as the notice for the exercise was published on the local dailies on October 2, 2024, two days before the due date.
She noted that this was insufficient for the public to be aware and sensitized over the process.
She also pointed out that the government had not specified the exact website where people could download the template form, indicating that this would prevent many from completing the process.
