No, Kenya's supreme court did not reinstate impeached deputy president
IN SHORT: Posts claiming the country's top court declared Rigathi Gachagua's impeachment illegal and ordered him back to office are false. The court made a procedural ruling, not a reinstatement order.
Social media posts, shared mainly on TikTok and Facebook on 30 January 2026, claimed that former Kenyan deputy president Rigathi Gachagua had been ordered by the supreme court to resume office after his impeachment was "declared illegal".
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Many included a graphic designed to look like a breaking news alert and branded "Kenya News". It showed Gachagua's photo and was captioned: "Breaking News: The Supreme Court of Kenya to Order Gachagua to Resume Office after Declaring His Impeachment Illegal."
Some of the TikTok videos featured Citizen TV's 9 pm news theme music, while others included footage of creators supporting the claim.
Together, the posts drew more than 960,000 views, 30,000 likes and over 1,800 comments. But what is the truth to this claim? We checked.
Impeachment challenged in court
Rigathi Gachagua was impeached by parliament in October 2024. Kithure Kindiki was later nominated and sworn in as his replacement.
Gachagua challenged the impeachment in court, leading to cases in the high court, the court of appeal and the supreme court. By early 2026, the supreme court was expected to rule on appeals by both Gachagua and the national assembly. In the days before the ruling, public attention was high, and speculation widespread on social media.
It is in this context that the social media posts began circulating, presenting the outcome as if the court had already ruled that Gachagua be immediately reinstated.
What the supreme court actually decided
On 30 January, the supreme court did not reinstate Gachagua or declare his impeachment illegal. Instead, the court issued a procedural ruling. It dismissed two applications: one by Gachagua, asking the court to stop ongoing high court cases related to his impeachment, and another by the national assembly, seeking to throw out Gachagua's cross-appeal.
The judges said they did not have the power to stop the high court proceedings and allowed both sides' main cases to continue to a full hearing.
Importantly, the court did not rule on whether the impeachment was lawful. It also made no order about who should hold the office of the deputy president. Media reports at the time described the ruling as procedural and not a final judgment. The claim in the viral social media posts is false.
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The posts in question also cited an unreliable platform. The "Kenya News" logo used in the circulating graphic does not belong to any well-known or credible Kenyan media house.
The platform appears to have limited online presence like on YouTube and Facebook. While some of its graphics reflect real events, others make claims that are clearly false, such as this one.
