- He said Parliament, constitutional commissions and other independent offices have been compromised by the Executive beyond any hopes of redemption.
- EPRA has sought to explain its reasons for the fuel hike, saying, "We were not a party to the suit and have not been served with the court order."
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The Kenya National Civil Society Center wants the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority cited for contempt of court for raising fuel pump prices in line with the Finance Bill that the court has suspended.
KNCSC executive director Suba Churchill said in a statement Kenyans still have some hope in the Judiciary as the last arm of government capable of standing against what he called the seemingly unending excesses of the Executive.
He said Parliament, constitutional commissions and other independent offices have apparently been compromised by the Executive "beyond hope of redemption".
EPRA on Friday announced higher new fuel pump prices to conform iwith the raising of VAT on petroleum products from eight to 16 per cent in the Financial Bill Act 2023-24
Implementation has been temporarily halted pending hearing and determination a case filed by activist senator Okiya Omatatah challenging legality of sections of the law.
EPRA has sought to explain its reasons for the increase of pump prices “because we were not a party to the suit and have not been served with the court order”.
Churchill said, “Such excuses are not only spurious and illegitimate, but also serve to demonstrate the depths of impunity to which the Kenya Kwanza administration has sunk in a matter of months of taking over the reins of the government”
“KNCSC finds it phony, bogus, sham and insensitive that a State regulator in charge of a sensitive docket, such as EPRA, can still muster the audacity to claim it did not act in contempt of Court because in a matter that is of such great public interest and on which the High Court pronouncement and order putting its implementation on hold reverberated across the country like a tsunami,” he said.
He called on Kenyans who have bought fuel at the reviewed higher prices to demand and insist on being issued with a receipt to facilitate claims of refunds that may accrue should the court find that EPRA acted with impunity and in contempt of court by raising fuel prices in disregard of orders of the High Court.
He said that the impunity displayed by the Kenya Kwanza government is the reason Kenyans may be left with no other option but to support calls for civil disobedience by the opposition, especially in light of the casual manner in which orders of the courts are also being dismissed.