BBI Secretariat backs AGs Supreme Court appeal

BBI Secretariat backs AGs Supreme Court appeal

The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) secretariat has declared support for the decision by the Attorney General to file an appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge the nullification of the BBI by the Court of Appeal.

BBI secretariat co-chairpersons Junet Mohamed and Denis Waweru told the media on Thursday that the BBI had the backing of at least 4.2 million Kenyans and that the matter needed to be pursued to the finish.

“The initiative was supported by over four million Kenyans,” the statement reads “Their overriding sentiment is that we must pursue this matter to the very end.” 

The two are now requesting that the Supreme Court clarify the Basic Structure Doctrine.

“We feel that as it is, the Judiciary has amended the Constitution of Kenya and written processes into it that Kenyans did not discuss or vote on,” the secreretriat says.

While comparing the campaign for the BBI to the multiparty politics of the 1990s, the secretariat stated that the Supreme Court has a broader and more encompassing mandate than the High Court or the Court of Appeal when dealing with topics of major national concern.

“We believe that the two lower courts failed to appreciate the delicate balance needed in resolving an issue like the one before us and that only the Supreme Court judges have both the vocation and the mandate to do so,” the secretariat argued. 

The secretariat also pointed out that the Court of Appeal made some key positive declarations that were a step forward from the High Court’s decision.

According to the secretariat, the judgement upheld the constitutionality of the BBI Taskforce and BBI Steering Committee, as well as the President’s authority to create ad hoc committees and bodies.

The court also resolved the issue of Referendum questions being contained in a single Bill, according to the two promoters, as well as affirming that the IEBC has means to authenticate an initiative using its voter registry and biometrics, as it did in the case of the BBI Bill.

The two now believe that the BBI bill has the elixir that Kenya needs in order to deal with corruption, the two-thirds gender rule in parliament as well as the issue of inequality. 

“The BBI has some viable proposals on how to create an economy that works for every Kenyan, how to address taxation, how to strengthen agriculture, livestock and industrial sectors in rural areas to create jobs and eradicate poverty,” they stated. 

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