A petitioner has filed a cross-appeal with the Appellate Court, requesting that President Uhuru Kenyatta personally repay to the National Treasury funds spent by the BBI steering committee to promote the bill.
The petitioner, represented by lawyer Morara Omoke, joins a growing list of obstacles challenging the President and parliament after the nullification of the BBI process.
The petitioner further requests that the Court of Appeal order President Kenyatta to dissolve Parliament in accordance with the Supreme Court’s recommendation issued last year.
The BBI-driven Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill 2020 was deemed illegal by a High Court late last month, following eight petitions that presented 17 problems.
Among the petitioners’ pleas were whether BBI fulfilled the constitutional meaning of a public initiative, whether the referendum will have one or several questions, and who has the mandate to create constituencies, among other things.
According to the five-judge panel of Justices Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Jairus Ngaah, Teresia Matheka, and Chacha Mwita, an amendment can be begun by a Parliamentary or public initiative, not by the President.
