This archive report was first published on 3 December 2019.
On December 3, 2019, activist Okiya Omtatah filed a case in court challenging the Finance Act 2019, citing its unconstitutionality.
According to Omtatah, the Finance Act 2019 was passed without adhering to established parliamentary procedures, which he claims is a breach of the Constitution.
Furthermore, Omtatah alleges that President Kenyatta abused his veto powers under Article 115(1)(b) of the Constitution by not only vetoing the Finance Bill 2019 but also drafting proposed amendments to the Bill.
He argues that the President's actions amount to legislation, which is a breach of the separation of powers doctrine entrenched in the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
President Kenyatta had expressed his reservations to delete Clause 45 of the Bill, which related to the capping of interest rates chargeable on loans advanced by banks and other financial institutions.
Omtatah claims that this move went beyond the President's powers under Article 115(1)(b), which only allows him to express reservations, not block legislation he disagrees with.
He further alleges that National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi misrepresented facts and misapplied the law by declaring that the Presidential reservation was fully accommodated, despite Parliament modifying the reservations to limit their application.
Omtatah also claims that the presidential reservation on the Finance Bill was not subjected to public participation.
He is seeking a declaration from the court that the President has no powers to legislate by making recommendations to Parliament and that his veto powers are limited to expressing reservations and not drafting proposed amendments to Bills.
