Majority Leader criticises courts for engaging in ‘judicial activism’

Leader of the Majority Party in the National Assembly Kimani Ichung’wah, has criticised the Judiciary for what he describes as a calculated attempt to invalidate various Bills passed by the House and forwarded to the President for assent, terming it as ‘judicial activism’.

Ichung’wah claimed that the courts are exploiting the absence of a substantive public participation law to impose new thresholds for invalidating bills.

Speaking during the National Assembly leadership retreat in Naivasha, Ichung’wah expressed concern over an alarming trend of petitioners challenging the constitutionality of Bills that are pending before Parliament thus interfering with parliament’s legislative mandate.

 “In many instances, these new standards are introduced after a statute has been enacted and are applied retroactively to annul laws that were passed in accordance with existing public participation principles,” Ichung’wah lamented.

Major motions

The Kikuyu MP said that there is need to fast track enactment of a public participation statute even as the National Assembly awaits the outcome of its appeals against various court decisions.

The Majority Leader also highlighted the National Assembly’s achievements this session, noting significant legislative progress.

Among key Bills passed and assented to are the Affordable Housing Bill, the Supplementary Appropriation (No.2) Bill and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill.

Major motions included the approval of nominees for Cabinet Secretaries, the Inspector-General of Police, ratification of the Economic Partnership Agreement between Kenya and the European Union, and adoption of the Public Finance Management (Kenya Millennium Development Fund) Regulations.