This archive report was first published on 15 August 2019.
On August 15, 2019, a three-judge bench from the High Court visited the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) to establish whether Mzee Jomo Kenyatta's statue is part of the iconic building.
The visit comes after activist Okiya Omtatah filed a case challenging the inclusion of Mzee Kenyatta's effigy on the new currency.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) argues that the statue is part of KICC, while Omtatah insists that the two are separate and that inclusion of the statue violates Article 231(4) of the Constitution.
During the visit, the judges measured the distance between the KICC building and Mzee's statue, finding that they are 80 metres apart.
It was also noted that the two structures were unveiled on separate days: Mzee Kenyatta opened KICC on September 10, 1973, while the statue was unveiled the following day by then Vice President Daniel arap Moi.
Omtatah maintained that the two are distinct, further arguing that Mzee Kenyatta's image on the currency is bigger than the statue and hence, its inclusion on the currency appears as a portrait.
The court will deliver its judgement on September 27, 2019.
