High Court judge directs State to restore security to 141 MPs
Justice Roselyn Aburili who on February 6, 2018 ordered the government to restore security to 141 MPs affiliated to Nasa. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
As Justice Aburili made the decision, 47 more MPs moved to court seeking similar orders.
The judge at the same time suspended an order revoking Mr Kaluma’s firearm licence.
- Jimi Wanjigi and Boniface Mwaura moved to court seeking to quash the decision revoking their firearms licence.
The High Court has ordered the government to restore security to 141 MPs affiliated to Nasa.
Justice Roselyn Aburili ruled that fears raised by the MPs were real as their security would be compromised if the order withdrawing their bodyguards is not lifted.
She directed the MPs’ lawyer Peter Kaluma, who is also the Homa Bay Town MP, to file and serve the main petition, within 10 days.
The Judge also directed the case to be mentioned on February 19, to confirm whether the government will have complied with the order.
As Justice Aburili made the decision, 47 more MPs moved to court seeking similar orders.
KALUMA FIREARM
The judge at the same time suspended an order revoking Mr Kaluma’s firearm licence, pending the hearing of a petition he has filed.
She said the MPs had made allegations that need to be investigated by the court before arriving at its decision.
Meanwhile, businessmen Jimi Wanjigi and Boniface Mwaura moved to court seeking to quash the decision by the Firearm Licensing Board, revoking their firearms licence.
Mr Wanjigi said he was summoned by chief licensing officer Samuel Kimaru, asking him to surrender his firearm on January 30.
According to Mr Wanjigi, the move is illegal and contrary to the express provisions of the Constitution and the Fair Administrative Justice Act.
TRANSPARENT
Through lawyer Willis Otieno, Mr Wanjigi argued that the Constitution requires that all State organs, in the exercise of their powers, to be transparent and accountable.
He said that fair administrative action states that before any action that will affect the public is taken, the authority should inform the affected party and give reasons for the decision.
The lawyer said the revocation is irrational and unreasonable as it was reached without following due process of the law and without an opportunity to be heard.
Mr Wanjigi said he was a law abiding citizen, who rightfully exercised his rights as a member of the democratic society governed by the Constitution and all enabling laws to legally acquire firearms.
“No criminal proceedings have been brought against him but the decision has been made maliciously to impugn his character and expose him to public harm and risk,” Mr Otieno said.
