High Court's Justice Chacha Mwita on Tuesday struck out the two applications that would have seen the charges and proceedings held against President Uhuru Kenyatta alongside the Attorney General and the Speaker of the National Assembly.
Human Rights Activist Okiya Omtatah had moved to the High Court seeking two accounts of charges to be launched against President Kenyatta.
However, the move was opposed through an application by the Attorney General indicating that the President as the Head of State was immune to any criminal or civil prosecution.
[caption caption="Human Rights Activist Okiya Omtatah"]
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On the second account, Omtatah had filed charges against President Kenyatta for not having consulted during his creation of the posts of Chief Administrative Secretaries (CASs).
In his decision, Justice Mwita indicated that the mandate of the presidential office allowed the President to make certain decisions without necessarily making consultations.
According to the Judge, the voters bestow upon the President the capacity to make certain decisions on their behalf.
Although Judge Mwita did not quote the exact reason he struck out the President's name, he expressed: “In my considered view, the name of the President should not have been in this petition. I will provide reason in the final judgement.”
Omtatah had argued that the President should have consulted the Public Service Commission before creating the new CAS positions as well as making the Principal Secretaries appointments.
A youth group enjoined in the case argued that international law guaranteed immunity for sitting Presidents, heads of governments and Ambassadors against prosecution.
In his response, however, Omtatah indicated that the President should not be allowed to hide under the guise of presidential immunity to act with impunity.
