The Supreme Court on Thursday evening shut down the Reconciliation Program (BBI) Report calling it illegal, invalid and empty a move that has been interpreted as a major blow to the efforts of President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga to amend the Constitution.
The court, through its decision, questioned President Kenyatta’s abuse of power and went against the law to reform the Constitution.
A five-judge panel of high court also ruled that the President had violated Article Six of the Constitution, which deals with leadership and integrity (of the President), in an attempt to change the Constitution through an illegal BBI bill.
The ruling, issued at 3.30pm, listed a number of mistakes made by President Kenyatta in his efforts to amend the Constitution. In addition, the high court said some were made by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The court issued a permanent order for the IEBC not to conduct a referendum exercise, until it has prepared a valid voter register and a sensitivity to the need for the Constitution to be amended.
The BBI was founded by President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga, after announcing the burial of their political differences in March 2018, through popular reconciliation greetings such as Handisheki.
The issues raised through Thursday’s court decision were so outlined that there will be no appeal.
Some activists and organizations went to court to challenge the reality of the BBI. Several opposition leaders in the country were supporting the BBI.
The rift between President Kenyatta and Odinga, contributed to the split of the ruling Jubilee wing, one movement, Kieleweke, leaning towards the President and the other, Tangatanga on behalf of the Deputy President, Dr William Ruto.
“There is a God in heaven who loves Kenya without measure. God’s name be exalted, ”Dr Ruto, who has been critical of the BBI, posted on his Twitter page, after the decision to ban the BBI was released.
President Kenyatta’s intention to change the Constitution through the BBI, contributed to the expulsion of some Jubilee leaders and politicians from their positions in parliament as well as to various committees, such as Garissa Urban MP Aden Duale and Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen. sharp, criticizing the bill.
The Supreme Court, in its five-and-a-half-hour decision, said the technical committee of 14 members appointed to gather Kenyans’ views and formulate the BBI was illegal and unlawful.
The committee was chaired by former Garissa senator Yusuf Hajii.
The decision of paragraph 743, was so long that the judges read each one in its own phase.
A panel of five judges, led by Prof Joel Ngugi, said President Kenyatta had made a serious mistake in trying to amend the Constitution through a popular bill, which did not follow the law.
It stated, instead the President would use the national parliament through the Attorney General, to amend the Constitution.
In addition, the court ruled that amendments to the Constitution are not short-lived but to use a parliamentary institution and a popular bill that follows the law.
The Supreme Court said the BBI was the “plan” of the President, which was considered a legitimate way to change the Constitution, and to allow the law to be changed through such a process would be seen as giving the President a referendum to achieve his plans.
“It cannot be the President who is the founder or founder of the Constitution to be amended,” the court said, adding that the BBI was driven by selfish ambitions.
The judges ruled that the president had violated his constitutional mandate, calling for the Constitution to be amended, while the law made clear his responsibilities as head of state.
For those who thought President Kenyatta aimed to bring about national unity through the nine points listed in the bill, the court said the claim was betrayed by the fact that the BBI task force was formed by the President himself and was reporting to him.
“The fact is that the BBI was the President’s plan and violated Article 257 of the Constitution. The task force was illegal from the beginning, “the judges said.
The panel of judges quelled rumors of those who compared the BBI to the efforts of (Retired) President Mwai Kibaki to change the 2005 and 2010 Constitution, under his administration.
The judges said Mr Kibaki made changes in accordance with the rules of the previous Constitution, established during Mbeberu’s rule. The current constitution, launched in 2010 and came into force in 2013.
Under the current Constitution, the judges said it made it clear about the amendments, but through a popular bill by the incumbent President, the President’s office or a government agency, they were not listed.
They argued that legally proposed amendments to the Constitution should be initiated by individual citizens or a group of private citizens, but not a state institution.
Proponents of the BBI told the court that the President had exercised his constitutional right to reform. The judges, however, argued that the President had failed to uphold the Constitution, in violation of a clause describing his leadership and integrity.
“While his efforts to unite the nation and bring unity are thwarted, he cannot start a plan to amend the Constitution. The move does not fall under its responsibilities as head of state, ”the court stressed.
The judges said that because the plan was illegal from the beginning, all that was intended to be achieved would not cause any legal upheaval, once it was outlawed.
The Supreme Court also said President Uhuru Kenyatta (as incumbent president) could be personally prosecuted for his actions or violating the Constitution.
The Constitution states that charges that cannot be prosecuted are criminal, while in office.
