Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki Appeals BBI Judgement at the Supreme Court

Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki has challenged an Appeals Court decision that blocked attempts to amend the Constitution through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

Kariuki wants the Supreme Court to overturn the August 20th, 2021 verdict that declared the BBI Constitutional (Amendment) Bill 2020 unconstitutional.

Through Solicitor General Ken Ogeto, the AG listed 10 grounds for the appeal including the judges’ decision on the basic structure doctrine, popular initiative, public participation, and creation of new constituencies.

He is also seeking to have the country’s apex court set aside the Court of Appeal declarations on presidential immunity, the quorum of IEBC in the verification of signatures supporting the Constitution Amendment Bill 2020, and the adequacy of legal infrastructure to support the voter verification exercise.

Kihara further wants the Supreme Court to review the appellate judges’ verdict on the issue of single or multiple referendum questions, how voter registration relates to holding of a referendum, and who ought to have been enjoined as friends of the court in the BBI bill case.

In August, a seven-judge bench of the Appeals Court upheld a high court decision that the President cannot initiate constitutional change through popular initiative because he does not fall under the category of the ‘general public’.

The second-highest court also ruled that President Kenyatta violated the Constitution by initiating the constitutional amendment.

The judges also issued a permanent injunction barring the electoral commission from conducting a referendum on the Constitution Amendment Bill 2020.