'The Judge Was Biased' Gachagua Responds to Courts Orders on Him to Surrender 200M to Govt
Deputy William Ruto's running mate, Rigathi Gachagua has responded to the court order made by Justice Esther Maina where he has been ordered by the High Court's Anti-Corruption division to surrender Kshs. 202 million to the government.
Leah Mukangai 
Gachagua termed the verdict to be biased from the start of the case to its judgment.
"The judgment today by Justice Esther Maina, in my case against the Asset Recovery Agency, did not come as a surprise to me and my lawyers," Gachagua stated.
The judgement today by Justice Esther Maina, in my case against the Asset Recovery Agency, did not come as a surprise to me and my Lawyers.
— Rigathi Gachagua (@rigathi) July 28, 2022
The Judge was biased against us from the word go and threw caution to the wind by conducting a sham trial.
"The Judge was biased against us from the word go and threw caution to the wind by conducting a sham trial. Against the rules of evidence, she refused our application to cross-examine the Investigator in order to test the veracity of his allegations," Rigathi claimed.
He described the decision as a clear attempt to stymie Kenya Kwanza's bid for the presidency in the upcoming August 9 election.
Gachagua claimed, without providing evidence, that the decision was made hastily after he defeated his Azimio presidential running mate, Martha Karua, in the deputy president's debate which was done on July 16.
"The judgment was hastily rushed ten days before the elections in a futile attempt to undermine my candidature in the coming elections and dent my sterling performance in the running mates debate last week," Gachagua stated.
Gachagua has now promised to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal, claiming that he was denied a fair hearing.
The court ruled that the Mathira MP obtained the funds from government agencies without providing any goods or services.
On July 23, 2021, officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested Gachagua at his Nyeri home on suspicion of money laundering.
He was then taken to the DCI headquarters to be questioned. The Mathira MP was arrested after being linked to a Ksh12 billion explained payment made via 42 proxy companies.
He was then charged with corruption conspiracy, fraudulent acquisition of public property, money laundering and acquisition of proceeds of crime, and conflict of interest.
After three days in police custody, he was released on July 26 on a Ksh12 million cash bail and an alternative Ksh25 million bond. The lawmaker was also ordered to hand over his passport and refrain from contacting any witnesses.
Gachagua stated during a Kenya Kwanza rally that if the UDA flagbearer is declared the winner of the presidential election on August 9, he will recover the money and use it to benefit the people of Nyeri county.
He also denied being a billionaire, claiming that his net worth, including the frozen Ksh202 million, was Ksh800 million.
