Court declines to stop Parliament from forwarding Constitution Amendment Bill to Ruto

Through the Bill, MPs seek to amend the Constitution to formally entrench the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF), the Senate Oversight Fund, and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF).

The matter was heard before High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi, where the Katiba Institute, sought conservatory orders to halt the process. 

However, Justice Mugambi declined to issue the interim orders and instead directed the parties to file their submissions and appear in court on June 5 for further directions.

“There is no reason to grant interim conservatory orders at this stage since the parties are already before the court,” ruled Justice Mugambi. 

“The issue of conservatory orders can still be revived on June 5 when the court will issue further directions on the ruling date.”

The Katiba Institute argued that the Bill and its associated processes, including the scheduled public participation, are unnecessary and violate the constitutional requirement for prudent and responsible public spending.

However, during the mention, the respondents told the court that the matter is premature, stating that the Bill had not yet been presented to the President. 

They added that the Bill was still before the Senate for its first reading and not yet before the full Parliament. The respondents further argued that the petitioner had failed to consider the ripeness of the case.