Petition Filed Against National Assembly

A petition has been filed against the National Assembly seeking to have the court declare that it is not properly constituted.

The petitioner Brian Higgins Mbugua, through lawyer Adrian Kamotho, argued that the National Assembly cannot transact business in the absence of a Member of Parliament for Banissa Constituency.

Mbugua further argued that failure by the respondents to conduct a by-election in that constituency within the mandated timelines means that its constituents have been deprived of a person of their choice to represent their interests in the National Assembly in line with Articles 94 and 95 of the Constitution.

A court gavel. /TWITTER

He also argued that the respondents failed to conduct by-elections for the position of Member of Parliament, Banissa Constituency, Mandera County, within the stipulated 90-day timeline, thus violating the provisions of Article 101 (4) (b) of the Constitution.

It is for these reasons that he now wants the court to declare the National Assembly as not well constituted.

Mbugua wants the court to direct the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to conduct by-elections for Banissa MP within 30 days.

The Banissa MP seat was in April 2023 declared vacant by National Assembly Speaker, Moses Wetangula, following the death of Kullow Maalim Hassan who was elected during the August 9, 2022, general election on the United Democratic Movement (UDM) party ticket.

Maalim died on Tuesday evening, March 28 while receiving treatment at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi. According to his family, the lawmaker died after he sustained injuries from a hit-and-run accident along Mombasa Road.

He was knocked down at Capital Centre by a motorcycle rider on Saturday, March 25 who fled the scene. He was taken to Reliance Hospital in South C and later transferred to the Aga Khan Hospital.

The rider was subsequently charged with driving a motorcycle dangerously whereby he knocked down Maalim who suffered injuries and died.

He denied the charges as well as those of failing to report the accident and driving a motorcycle without a license, and was freed on a cash bail of Ksh300,000 with an alternative bond of Ksh500,000 with one surety.

The Speaker must within 21 days of the vacancy, notify the IEBC in writing of the vacancy and a by-election must be held within 90 days.

The IEBC is however not fully constituted because it lacks commissioners to plan and supervise a by-election.