Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi.FILEThe High Court has pushed the mention of the petition challenging the Supreme Court’s decision to bar Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi and his law firm from appearing before it, as parties await directions from the Court of Appeal.
The dispute stems from a decision announced by the Supreme Court’s Registrar in January 2024, barring Senior Counsel Ahmednasir and all lawyers associated with his firm from appearing before the apex court.
The ban prompted the Law Society of Kenya(LSK) to file a petition challenging the Supreme Court’s authority to bar advocates outside the disciplinary structures established by law.
The case has now been pending for over a year, entangled in the dispute between the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Justice Chacha Mwita on Tuesday stated that there was no need to set an earlier date, as a hearing date had yet to be scheduled at the appellate court, where the Supreme Court judges are contesting the High Court’s jurisdiction over the matter.
Appearing for LSK, lawyer Wilfred Nderitu informed the court that, although the parties had been referred to engage in talks during the last Court of Appeal session on April 30, 2025, no meaningful progress had been made, a matter confirmed by the other parties.
He stated that no date had been set for the appeal hearing and confirmed that the prospects of resolving the matter out of court were minimal.
“We were before the court of appeal in April when we were asked to attempt to settle the matter amongst ourselves. We then held one meeting which did not yield any meaningful results,” Counsel Nderitu told the court.
Justice Mwita noted that in the absence of progress at the appellate court, it made little sense to push for an earlier mention date.
He gave a November 11, 2025, mention date, saying it would allow the parties time to pursue directions from the Court of Appeal or a possible judgment.
“You still need to be heard at the Court of Appeal, and that process must conclude before this court can proceed,” he said.
In his June 28, 2024, ruling, Justice Chacha Mwita had initially asserted the High Court’s jurisdiction to hear the petition but acknowledged that constitutional limits on judicial review warranted the matter being referred to the Court of Appeal for clarification.
Subsequently, in November, the Court of Appeal suspended the High Court proceedings pending the outcome of the Supreme Court judges’ appeal challenging Mwita’s jurisdiction.
The appellate court was expected to form a five-judge bench to decide whether the High Court could hear such cases.
