Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu has appointed a five-judge bench to oversee cases engulfing the advisory he made to President Uhuru Kenyatta of dissolving Parliament.
High Court Judge Weldon Korir referred the case he was handling to CJ urging him to appoint judges to oversee it.
The five judges appointed by the DCJ include Justices George Odunga, James Makau, Anthony Ndung’u, Pauline Nyamweya, who will be led by Justice Lydia Achode.
Maraga on September 21, 2020 wrote to President Kenyatta urging him to dissolve parliament after it failed to implement the 2/3 gender rule as per the constitution indicating that it is incorrect for parliament to continue carrying on with business and yet it has failed to fulfil its obligation.
On the other hand, Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) moved to court to challenge the advisory pointing that the CJ’s decision is ill advised, premature and unconstitutional which might plunge the country into a constitutional crisis.
The High Court on September 24, 2020 suspended CJ advisory until hearing and determination of a petition filed by two Kenyans.
In his conservatory orders, Justice Weldon Korir noted that the case, filed by Leina Konchella and Mohsen Abdul Munasar, was extremely urgent.
“It is also important to observe that it is in the public interest not to subject the country to parliamentary elections before exhaustively interrogating the constitutionality of the decision of the Chief Justice,” he said.
“The public interest therefore supports the issuance of conservatory orders,” he added.
