High Court Blocks Implementation of BBI Bill if Passed by Parliament

The High Court has issued temporary orders suspending the enactment of the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020 pending the hearing of a case challenging it.

The Bill popularly referred to as the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Bill, is currently before the Senate and National Assembly after it was passed by more than 24 county assemblies.

The court order means that if the Bill receives the approval of the two Houses, President Kenyatta cannot sign it into law until the case before the High Court is heard and determined.

The order was issued on Friday following an application filed by Thirdway Alliance party lawyer Elius Mutuma, who asked the five-judge bench to stop the Bill from being assented into law.

The order comes a week after a five-judge bench started hearing eight petitions challenging the BBI Bill. The petitions were consolidated into one case.

The petitioners are challenging the process to introduce changes to the 2010 Constitution through BBI, terming it a dangerous move.

While making their submissions virtually, the petitioners argued that the public was not involved in the process of amending the country’s supreme law. They insist that BBI does not reflect the will of the people of Kenya.

Further, the petitioners questioned how the Bill was presented to the 47 county assemblies, claiming that it was hurriedly done to exclude Kenyans, especially those with dissenting views.