Pokot South MP David Pkosing has termed the ruling of the five-judge bench that upheld eight petitions against the Building Bridges Initiative as an attempted coup.
The lawmaker said the ruling is impossible to accept as an objective rule of law, adding that “it was too personal” and an attempt to put President Uhuru Kenyatta on trial.
“Was the president on trial? The ruling was an attempted coup and is not acceptable. How do you say the President contravened Chapter Six,” Pkosing said.
“By insinuating that the President contravened Chapter Six, are they saying the President should resign? This is not right at all,” the lawmaker said.
Pkosing urged Kenyans to reject agendas aimed at derailing the constitution amendments, saying the efforts amount to denying Kenyans immense benefits in the proposed bill.
Justices Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Jairus Ngaah, Teresia Matheka and Chacha Mwita slammed brakes on the BBI training on Thursday.
The justices said the president overstretched his powers in proposing amendments to the Constitution.
The judges said amendments cannot be made to the basic foundation structure of the Constitution and that the president, government or any state organ cannot initiate the process to amend the constitution.
The team held the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2020, was initiated by the president and as such bordered on a breach of integrity laws.
Judges Ngugi, Odunga, Ngaa, Matheka, and Mwita held that the constitution can only be amended by the Kenyan people through a referendum adding that the BBI Steering Committee was an invalid outfit.
They also accused the BBI promoters of failing to avail adequate copies of the BBI bill to the public.
The bench emphasized that voters must be supplied with adequate copies of BBI documents for proper public participation.
The justices further ruled that owing to how the BBI process was conducted, there was nothing legitimate that can come out of it.
President Kenyatta and Raila have sought to overturn the decision at the Court of Appeal on Monda, raising a litany of questions on the judgement.
The leaders aver that the High Court introduced institutions not recognized in Kenyan law; and that the court referred to a steering committee that has been defunct since last June.
The appeal will also be hinged on a claim that the court purported to take away the President’s immunity in contravention of the constitution.
The president and his handshake part further aver that the judgement was an assault on the sovereign power of the people in Chapter 1 of the Constitution.