The National Assembly is staring at an imminent dissolution if a petition sent to the Chief Justice, Honorable David Maraga, goes through. Two Petitioners, Honourable Stephen Owoko and John Wangai, in a petition dated 29th November 2018 want the Chief Justice to dissolve Parliament for failing to pass the two thirds gender bill. In the petition, the two want the Chief Justice, who is also the president of the Supreme Court, to advise the president, H.E Uhuru Kenyatta, to dissolve the parliament pursuant to Article 261 (7) of the Kenya Constitution 2010 and High Court Ruling by Justice John Mativo that was made in March 2017.
According to Article 81(b) of the Kenyan Constitution, there should be not more than two thirds of the members of elective public bodies of the same gender some thing that parliament has continued to violate. The bill by Parliament majority leader, Hon. Duale, to pass the gender bill flopped this week after the house was hit by a quorum hitch.
“If the gender principle will not be implemented by June (2017) anyone could write a petition to the Chief Justice to advise the president to dissolve the parliament,” reads a verdict issued by High Court Judge, John Mativo, in March 2017.
In the historic precedent set by the Supreme Court of Kenya, the Honourable Chief Justice stated that, “It is also in our view that the greatness of a Nation lies not in the mighty of its armies, important as that may be, not in the largeness of its economy, important as that may be, the greatness of a Nation lies in its fidelity to the Constitution and the strict adherence to the rule of law and above all the fear of God.”
“Therefore, your humble petitioners pray that pursuant to Article 261 (7), the Honourable Chief Justice to advise the president to dissolve the parliament until it is conformity with Article 81(b) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and is well constituted,” the petitioners say in their final submission.
It now remains to be seen if indeed the Chief Justice will heed to the petition and advise the president to dissolve the National Assembly for not meeting the Constitutional requirement.
