This year saw a number of cases being dismissed by the High Court either for want of prosecution or merely because the cases did not meet the threshold for grant of the orders sought.
Others were
thrown out on the basis of public interest.
Below is a list of some of the cases.
GMO Ban
The High Court this year dismissed a number of petitions that were challenging the lifting of a ban on genetically modified organisms (GMO) foods.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi said the issues had already been dealt with by the Environment and Lands Court in 2023.
The judge in his decision said the Lands court had considered the implication of the lifting of the ban and the safety measures put in place and concluded that the laws in place were in harmony with the need for a clean and healthy environment.
Among the petitioners who challenged the lifting of the ban were Advocate Paul Mwangi.
He argued that the decision to lift it violated the rights of small-scale farmers and consumers and that there was no public participation.
But Mugambi in making reference to the Lands court decision said the government had put in place safety measures to address the concerns raised by the petitioners.
Environment and Lands Court Judge Oscar Angote in 2023 called on Kenyans to trust their own government institutions on matters of health even as he dismissed a case challenging the cultivation and importation of GMO crops.
He said no evidence has been brought before the court to show that state agencies have breached the laws and guidelines pertaining to GMO food, and in particular the approval of the release in the environment, cultivation, importation, and exportation of Bt maize.
The case before Angote was filed by the Law Society of Kenya.
It was named the Attorney General, National Biosafety Authority, NEMA, and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KARLO) as respondents in the case.
LSK had alleged that the cultivation, importation and exportation of GMO maize was being undertaken without an EIA license.
But the judge said this claim saying it was prematurely made since the said project had not commenced.
CBC Petition
In June this year, the High Court dismissed a petition challenging the rollout of the CBC Education curriculum which replaced the 8-4-4 education system.
Justices Hedwig Ong’undi, Antony Ndun’u and John Chigiti however directed
the Education CS to amend the education laws to align with the structure of CBC
in 120 days.
They have also directed the Ministry of Education to set up a committee for the implementation of the report on CBC.
Judges Hedwig Ongundi, Antony Mrima and Antony Ndung'u on Thursday said they were satisfied that a shift to CBC is necessary to ensure that necessary skills are given to learners.
While dismissing the petition filed by lawyer Nelson Havi, the bench ruled that he had not proved his case.
Havi filed the petition in 2021 challenging the rollout of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), which replaced the 8-4-4 education system.
advocate Nelson Havi who sought to have the new education curriculum scrapped saying it is unconstitutional and unlawful.
The initial petitioner in the matter was Esther Ang'awa also an advocate of the high court but she opted out of the matter on claims that she had been profiled by the state. Her name was substituted with that of Havi.
The national rollout of the
Competency-Based Curriculum started in January 2019 at Pre-Primary I and II and
Grades 1, 2 and 3 in lower primary.
The 2-6-3-3-3 curriculum was billed as the ultimate game changer in the country’s education as it seeks to plug gaps noted under the 8-4-4 system of rote learning.
Dandora Dumpsite case
The high court has dismissed a case challenging the Sh47 billion Waste to Energy processing plant which is situated in Dandora.
Judge Anne Omolo ruled that the case was prematurely filed and subsequently struck it out.
The decision by the court meant that Plans by the county to award a Chinese company a tender to construct a recycling plant in Dandora will proceed as planned.
Justice Omolo in dismissing the case filed by one Muthoni Mbae said there was no proof of any violation of the right to a clean and healthy environment.
Mbae had asked the court to declare that his rights had been violated but the judge said there was no proof of any violation of the right to a clean and healthy environment thus no declaratory orders to that effect could be issued.
Doing so she said would be anticipatory.
The case was filed by Mbae in 2023 after he allegedly learned that the county awarded a tender to design, finance, build, operate, maintain, and transfer a waste-to-energy processing plant at Dandora Dumpsite to M/s China National Electric Engineering Company.
He said the process of advertising, evaluation, and award of the tender was done in an opaque manner. There was no public participation.
He had claimed that the public and residents of Dandora who will be directly affected by the construction of the said waste-to-energy plant were not informed and at the same time given an opportunity to air their grievances.
It is for those reasons that he sought a declaration that his rights had been violated.
The judge after analysing the submission presented by parties said, “There being no contract signed between the resp and the interested party, this court cannot infer that the scope of works to be would violate the rights of the petitioner. To this extent, I find that the petition was filed prematurely,”
