Lawyer Donald Kipkorir//Image Courtesy
Shortly after the High Court ruled in favour of the state concerning Rigathi Gachagua’s case, lawyer Donald Kipkorir has come out faulting the judgement.
The High Court ruled that the three judge bench empanelled by Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu in the absence of Chief Justice Martha Koome was under dictates of the law.
The lawyer while giving out his concepts, said the Constitution is supreme over any law.
He asserted that in as much as Article 165 (4) gives the Chief Justice exclusive power to empanel judges, there is nowhere the Deputy Chief Justice has the same powers to do so.
“Article 165 (4) of the Constitution gives the Chief Justice exclusive power to empanel High Court Judges benches. The Article is RES IPSA LOQUITUR. It is self-evident and self-contained.’’
He added that this judgement is a tortured and may cause chaos in the country.
“I didn’t hear Justices Ogola, Mrima and Mugambi expound how this explicit Article meant the Deputy Chief Justice could act as Chief Justice. It was a tortured explanation that could spawn chaos across,” added the lawyer.
He further explained that certain roles are left for the executive holders and not their deputies since this may lead to dire repercussions.
“So, what will happen if the President is out of the country and a rogue Deputy President reshuffles the Cabinet? What happens if a Deputy CEO fires the CEO when he is away? So, Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss can exercise full powers of Speaker Moses Wetang’ula when he is away? The Judges failed to give parameters or emergency situations that calls for a Deputy to make decisions reserved for a Principal. Principals in the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary when out of the Country won’t trust their Deputies again.”
Kipkorir resolved that the judgement was only to save the three judge bench but it will have consequences in the future.
“ The decision may save the empaneled Bench for now but down the line, chaos will be all over,” said the legal professional.
Kenyans backed up his statements, claiming he is a very sober minded person. Some said the Constitution has been compromised due to political interference.
“Too much Politics(Tribal) in our institutions is to blame. I hope someone didn’t ‘recuse’ themselves and delegate that power because of perceived biasness. Insecurities in this regime are on another level and are weakening institutions. I can only imagine the cascading effect,” replied Shinde Martin.
Bensam on his reply to the lawyer claimed that the judgement was poor and basically hurried, mutilating the Constitution.
