Editor's Review

  • The High Court has certified as urgent an application by the Attorney General seeking to stay orders issued by the court declaring the 2020 BBI Bill unconstitutional.

The High Court has certified as urgent an application by the Attorney General seeking to stay orders issued by the court declaring the 2020 BBI Bill unconstitutional.

The AG wants the orders stayed pending an appeal that he's lodged at the appellate court.

Following the application, the five-judge bench directed that the matter be certified as urgent and given priority.

The court also directed that the parties in the case should serve their written application by latest Thursday, May 20, 2021.

Lastly, the court noted that it will deliver its ruling on the application on Wednesday next week.


 "The court will give a ruling based on the written materials placed before it by email on Wednesday, May 26," the court directed.

The AG is seeking stay orders since the implementation of the ruling is a major threat to the BBI process.

Meanwhile, the AG, BBI Secretariat, ODM leader Raila Odinga, and the IEBC are expected to appeal the High Court ruling declaring BBI illegal.

Last week, the court declared the BBI process illegal, arguing that the President cannot initiate a popular initiative.

“It is our finding that popular initiative is a power reserved for Wanjiku neither the president or any other state organ can utilize article 257 to amend the constitution.

“President cannot purport to directly initiate a constitutional amendment. He isn’t part of parliament. He has no power under the constitution to initiate changes under the constitution since parliament is the only state organ that can consider the effecting of constitutional changes. The president is not permitted to amend the constitution using popular initiative," part of the ruling read.