This archive report was first published on 21 August 2021.
On August 21, 2021, the Court of Appeal delivered a significant blow to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) by declaring the entire process to amend the constitution as null and void.
A seven-panel bench of judges, led by Daniel Musinga, Fatuma Sichale, Gatembu Kairu, Hannah Okwengu, Roselyn Nambuye, Patrick Kiage, and Francis Tuiyott, ruled that the BBI process was unconstitutional and irregular.
The court agreed with the High Court that the push to amend the law bypassed many constitutional requirements, including the need for a popular initiative to campaign for constitutional changes.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, who initiated the BBI process, was also found to be in violation of the constitution, as he is not an ordinary citizen and cannot promote such a process.
Junet Mohamed, the MP for Suna East, had claimed to be the promoter of BBI, but the court found that he was legally bound to campaign for the constitutional changes through the popular initiative.
The court also ruled that the electoral commission was not properly constituted to verify the BBI signatures, and that the President can be sued in his individual capacity for violating the constitution.
Justice Kiage further alleged that the county assemblies were bribed by the Executive to approve the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and that the ward representatives did not conduct public participation due to promised car grants.
ODM leader Raila Odinga, who initiated BBI with President Kenyatta, welcomed the verdict and stated that he would not appeal, as it would be time-wasting.
