Seven-judge bench to hear the BBI appeal case
Justice Musinga who was elected as the Court of Appeal President has said there will be a seven-judge bench to hear the Building Bridges Initiative appeal.
Presiding in the Case Management Conference on the BBI appeals, Musinga said he will constitute a seven-judge bench with the permission of Chief Justice Martha Koome.
“A seven-judge bench will be elected to hear and determine the BBI appeal,” Judge Musinga said.
Additionally, Musinga said he wants the proceedings conducted with the dignity required.
“Let’s us be respectful with each other, let us not begin to prosecute this matter in the media,” the judge said.
Among those who have filed their appeals challenging the ruling, include President Uhuru Kenyatta, Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the office of the Attorney General and the BBI secretariat.
Parties say the filing of the appeals may come with a change of strategy from the pro-BBI team.
Through Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto, the AG presented a list of 31 key points saying the learned judges erred in law and fact by declaring the BBI unconstitutional.
In a similar move, Kenyatta through his lawyer Waweru Gatonye also filed a 10-page formal appeal arguing the same.
In a case filed at the Court of Appeal, the Head of State expressed his dissatisfaction with the ruling made by Justices Joel Ngugi, Chacha Mwita, Jairus Ngaah, George Odunga, and Teresiah Matheka on May 13, 2020, and that there are sufficient grounds to reverse their decision.
From the outset, Kenyatta is categorical that the determination by the Learned Judges was without foundation.
In his opinion, the judges acted contrary to the rules of natural justice by making a decision adversely affecting him yet he was not a party to the proceedings.
In fact, President Kenyatta reiterates to the Appellate Court that the judges contravened the law of the land by denying him equal protection and equal benefits of the law.
While expressing dismay over a decision by the judges to put him at the centre of the petition, Kenyatta insists that the suit that had been launched against him by those opposed to the BBI had been abandoned and ceased to exist prior to the commencement of the proceedings that led to the invalidation of the BBI process.
He also wonders why the judges proceeded to hear and determined issues, which he says, had already been dispensed with by a competent court of concurrent jurisdiction.
