Supreme Court declines to stop implementation of Finance Act

The Supreme Court has declined to stop the implementation of the Finance Act 2023 after an appeal by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah.

Omtatah and three other petitioners moved to the highest court in the land after the Court of Appeal on June 30, lifted orders stopping the implementation of the Act that had been issued by High Court Judge Mugure Thande.

A three-judge bench comprising of Justices Mohammed Warsame, Kathurima M'Inoti and Hellen Omondi lifted the orders.

In his submissions, Treasury CS Professor Njuguna Ndung'u said that the government was losing Sh500 million daily following Thande's freeze orders.

He added that the loss would affect the economy negatively should the appellate court okay the High Court orders.

In their ruling, the seven judges of the Supreme Court said that the appeal was not filed on time and that the petitioners failed to follow the court's directions.

"The four sets of written submissions filed out of time by the applicants on August 15, 2023, on the court's online platform are hereby struck out and the applicant's notice of motion dated August 5, 2023, is hereby dismissed," said the Judges.

The case was heard by Chief Justice Martha Koome, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu and judges Njoki Ndungu, Isack Lenaola, Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, and William.