An activist on Thursday moved to court seeking to quash the appointment of Kithure Kindiki as Deputy President of Kenya.
Joseph Enoch Aura filed a 215-page petition in the Milimani High Court arguing that Kindiki’s appointment and subsequent ascension into the Office of the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya was unconstitutional.
The activist, through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui who confirmed the suit in a call with Kenyans.co.ke, challenged the legality of Kindiki’s appointment on multiple fronts. At the core of the petition is the claim that Kindiki is still serving as Interior Cabinet Secretary since no official gazette notice was issued to announce he had vacated the position.
Harrison argued that Kindiki’s appointment contravened Article 137(2)(b) of the Kenyan Constitution which stipulates qualifications and disqualifications for nomination as president or deputy president.
Deputy President Kithure Kindiki with his wife Dr. Joyce Gatiria Njagi Kindiki during his swearing-in ceremony, 1 November 2024.
PCS
“Kindiki’s appointment goes against Article 137 which states that no person can be appointed as deputy president if they are a public officer or acting in any state or other public office. Kindiki is still recognised as Interior cabinet secretary as no gazette notice was issued notifying Kenyans of a vacancy in the position,” Harrison claimed.
The lawyer further claimed that the subsequent appointment of Musalia Mudavadi as acting Interior CS was unconstitutional noting that his appointment through an executive order by President Ruto went against the law.
“President Ruto appointed Musalia Mudavadi as acting Interior CS through Executive Order Number 5 which was established on July 5, 2024. The main premise of the Executive Order was to facilitate the formation of a Committee on Public Health. So this renders Mudavadi’s appointment null and void,” the lawyer stated.
Consequently, Harrison reiterated that the public holiday issued by Mudavadi for Kindiki’s swearing-in ceremony in his acting capacity as Interior CS could not hold. The lawyer said that the gazette notice issued by Mudavadi notifying Kenyans of the holiday was against Section 3 of the Public Holidays Act.
In addition, the activist contended that the process behind Kindiki’s appointment lacked transparency since it did not have the required public engagement and did not go through the required legal procedures.
He noted that the events leading up to Kindiki’s ascension to the DP position were conducted secretly, and violated principles of transparency enshrined in Article 10 of the Constitution.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye, in receiving the petition, granted Kindiki, President Ruto, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Attorney General Dorcas Odour, Chief Justice Martha Koome, National Assembly, Senate, IEBC and Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse until November 12 to file their responses to the lawsuit.
The case will be heard on December 16, 2024.
An image of Milimani Law courts.
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