Machakos County Governor Alfred Mutua’s Maendeleo Chap Chap party has moved to court seeking to challenge the creation of the Nasa’s People’s Assembly.
Through lawyer Alfred Nyamu, the party on Wednesday filed a case at the Milimani Law Courts. It listed 16 County Assemblies including Machakos County Assembly as respondents in the case for passing the contentious motion.
The Mutua-led party argues that the establishment of the People’s Assembly has no legal basis and amounts to a contravention of Article 1 (3) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.
“The purported establishment of the people’s assemblies via resolutions passed by the respondents amount to acts not authorised by the Constitution of Kenya 2010 hence contrary to Article 2 (2) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 hence not only illegal, but also null and void,” the party states in the petition.
Secretary-General of Maendeleo Chap Chap Party, Stephen Kilonzo, in an affidavit filed in court, claims the 16 county assemblies acted in excess of their powers and mandate under Article 185 of the Constitution. He argues that the resolutions should be declared illegal because the assemblies failed to consider public participation before passing the motion.
Kilonzo says a people’s assembly cannot exist hand-in-hand with a county assembly established under Article 176 of the Constitution.
He adds that any MCA who voted in support of the motion to establish a people’s assembly be declared to have forfeited their elected/nominated status and/or mandate to represent the electorate.
Kilonzo also seeks a court order directing Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to call fresh elections in the affected wards of those elected leaders who voted for the people’s assembly.
The case is similar to one filed by former Attorney General Githu Muigai on January 22, 2018 who sought orders to have the resolutions passed by 15 county assemblies quashed for contravening the law.
In his ruling on January 31, 2018, High Court judge John Mativo referred the AG’s case to Chief Justice David Maraga to constitute a bench which will listen to the case.
