The High Court will today give directions in a case in which lawyers and Mt. Kenya Jurists were challenging the implementation of the unpopular finance bill.
In June, a group of lawyers and Mount Kenya Jurists moved to court seeking orders to block President William Ruto from assenting to the controversial Finance and the Appropriation Bills, 2024 pending the determination of the petition.
A petition filed by lawyers including Ndegwa Njiru, Lempaa Suyinka, Fanya Mambo Kinuthia, Peter Koira, Ishmael Muriithi, Jackline Mwangi, Charles Mabiru, alongside Mt. Kenya Jurists Association, indicated that their application was prompted by a move by members of the National Assembly to pass a contentious tax bill despite opposition from a majority of Kenyans.
“Given that Parliament has not and cannot step up to its constitutional mandate to protect the sovereignty and interests of Kenyan people, it is absolutely necessary that this honorable court steps up to defend the constitution by stopping the implementation of the budget under the Finance Bill 2024 until this case is heard and determined,” said their lawyer Kibe Mungai.
The petitioners argued that elected leaders had turned a blind eye to the situation in the country citing mass protests have erupted in most parts.
Despite this, they said that the Executive and the Legislature, dominated by ruling party lawmakers, have been determined to pass and start implementing the new tax proposals.