City lawyer Morara Omoke has filed an application to the Court of Appeal seeking to compel President Uhuru Kenyatta to personally refund the National Treasury all the money spent on the BBI Constitutional of Kenya Amendment Bill 2020.
Omoke claimed that the president illegally allocated and used public funds used by the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) committee to initiate and promote the bill in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The petitioner also accuses the president of using taxpayers’ money to sway the decision of Members of County Assemblies to pass the bill at the county level.
MCAs received a Ksh4 billion car grant which was allegedly used to lobby them to vote in favour of the bill.
Omoke raised concern over the alleged disregard of Covid-19 rules during rallies held by the president and Opposition Leader Raila Odinga to promote BBI. This, according to the lawyer, was a violation of Article 43 of the Constitution.
He also wants parliament dissolved - stating that it did not have the legal or constitutional capacity to debate or approve the constitutional amendment bill.
The advocate further wants the court to declare the presidency and parliament illegitimate following advice from Retired Chief Justice David Maraga to the president asking him to dissolve parliament on grounds that it was unconstitutional.
Maraga wanted a fresh parliamentary poll to be conducted in order two meet the two-thirds gender threshold.
The declaration was stayed by a five-judge High Court bench, the very court that had declared the constitutional amendment bill declared BBI unconstitutional on May 13.
During the Case Management Conference last week, Court of Appeal President Justice Daniel Musinga directed all appellants to serve their memoranda of appeal within a week from Tuesday.
The three-judge bench gave respondents fourteen days to file their responses after which appellants will respond within three days.
Judge Musinga is expected to constitute a seven-judge bench that will preside over a four-day marathon hearing of appeal cases filed by President Kenyatta, ODM Leader Raila Odinga, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and Attorney General Paul Kihara between June 29 and July 2.
