The Supreme Court has pronounced itself on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). The country’s highest court ruled that the BBI did not follow the requisite steps, therefore, failed to meet some basic constitutional requirements.
The seven-Judge bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday, March 31, saw a majority of the Judges agree on four out of the seven issues raised by the petitioners.
In the more than half-a-day ruling, the Judges – in most cases – differed with the Court of Appeal and the High Court on a number of issues.
All Judges agreed that the Basic Structure Doctrine is not applicable in Kenya.
The Judges, apart from Justice Njoki Ndung’u, agreed that the President cannot initiate constitutional reforms in his capacity as the Head of State.
All the Judges, save for Njoki Ndung’u, agreed that the Second Schedule of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that the issue of creating new constituencies must undergo meaningful public participation. This was not the case in the BBI matter.
The Supreme Court Judges, save for Justice Ibrahim Mohammed, agreed that the Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission (IEBC) was properly constituted and was rightful to undertake the signatures verification.
The Judges unanimously agreed that the President cannot be sued during his tenure in office. The Head of State can, however, be sued before the commencement of a term or after his term ends.
Three judges, justices Ndung’u, Mwilu and Wanjala, dissented on the issue of public participation, arguing that the BBI process lacked an inclusive participatory process
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Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
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