President Uhuru Kenyatta will on Thursday next week deliver this year’s State of the Nation address to Parliament.
In a communiqué yesterday, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi notified all legislators of the special sitting of Parliament.
At the same time, the National Assembly plans to appeal a High Court ruling that nullified 23 laws passed by MPs.
The speaker revealed that the House Business Committee had resolved that the National Assembly appeals the decision of the High Court in constitutional petition No. 284 of 2019 as consolidated with constitutional petition No. 353 of 2019.
The High Court last week, in constitutional petition No. 284 of 2019 as consolidated with constitutional petition No. 353 of 2019, issued an order for cessation of consideration of all pending Bills in both Houses of Parliament until the requirement of Article 110(3) of the Constitution is first fulfilled.
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The judgement also contains other related declaratory orders that shall have a direct implication on the legislative work of the House.
Chief Justice David Maraga appointed a three-judge bench comprising justices J. Ngaah, A. Ndung’u and T. Matheka to hear the Senate’s petition.
“The House Business Committee did meet and deliberate on the matter of the judgement and resolved that the judgement is unconstitutional, erroneous and flawed in law,” Muturi said.
He maintained that the High Court failed to consider the architectural design of the bicameral parliamentary system under the Constitution.
He said the judgement has curtailed the National Assembly’s mandate under Article 109(3) of the Constitution by requiring that any Bill not concerning county government must be considered by the Senate too.
Speaker Kenneth Lusaka hailed the ruling, saying it will solve the disputes the Senate has been having with the National Assembly.
“This is a landmark ruling that not only reaffirms constitutionalism and the rule of law in Kenya, but also the role of the Senate in devolution,” Lusaka said.
