An activist filed a court petition on Thursday seeking to overturn Kithure Kindiki’s appointment as Kenya’s Deputy President.
Joseph Enoch Aura filed a 215-page petition in the Milimani High Court, claiming that Kindiki’s appointment and subsequent ascension to the Office of the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya were unconstitutional.
The activist, through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, confirmed that the suit challenged Kindiki’s appointment on multiple grounds.
The petition’s central claim is that Kindiki is still serving as Interior Cabinet Secretary because no official gazette notice was issued announcing his departure.
Harrison argued that Kindiki’s appointment violated Kenyan Constitution Article 137(2)(b), which specifies the qualifications and disqualifications for nomination as president or deputy president.
“Kindiki’s appointment goes against Article 137 which states that no person can be appointed as deputy president if they are a public officer or acting in any state or other public office,” Harrison claimed.“
Kindiki is still recognised as Interior cabinet secretary as no gazette notice was issued notifying Kenyans of a vacancy in the position.”
The lawyer also claimed that Musalia Mudavadi’s subsequent appointment as acting Interior CS was unconstitutional, citing the fact that President Ruto appointed him via executive order, which violated the law.
“President Ruto appointed Musalia Mudavadi as acting Interior CS through Executive Order Number 5 which was established on July 5, 2024,” the lawyer stated.
“The main premise of the Executive Order was to facilitate the formation of a Committee on Public Health. So this renders Mudavadi’s appointment null and void.”
As a result, Harrison reiterated that the public holiday declared by Mudavadi for Kindiki’s swearing-in ceremony in his acting capacity as Interior Secretary could not be held.
The lawyer argued that Mudavadi’s gazette notice notifying Kenyans of the holiday violated Section 3 of the Public Holidays Act.
Furthermore, the activist contended that the process surrounding Kindiki’s appointment lacked transparency because it did not have the required public participation and did not go through the required legal requirements.
He stated that the events leading up to Kindiki’s appointment to the DP position were conducted in secret, violating the principles of transparency enshrined in Article 10 of the Constitution.
After receiving the petition, Justice Bahati Mwamuye granted Kindiki, President Ruto, former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Attorney General Dorcas Odour, Chief Justice Martha Koome, National Assembly, Senate, IEBC, and Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse until November 12 to respond to the lawsuit.The case will be heard on December 16, 2024.
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