Kenyans may soon have a right to challenge decisions rendered by the Supreme Court should a planned constitutional amendment succeed.
Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi who is pushing the amendment said as it is currently, it is impossible for Kenyans dissatisfied with some rulings of the apex court to challenge it.
In a letter addressed to Speaker Amason Kingi, Osotsi is seeking assistance to have the bill drafted before being considered in Parliament.
He has cited the presidential election petition and the recent interpretation and application of the Bill of rights on family values.
"Article 1 of the Constitution expressly provides that "all sovereign power belongs to the people of Kenya" and that "the people may exercise their sovereign power either directly or through their democratically elected representatives," Osotsi cites.
He adds:
"Drawing from the foregoing, I am convinced that where the people of Kenya are extremely dissatisfied by a decision of the Supreme Court, they have inherent power to review that decision."
He argues that under the current framework, Kenyans dissatisfied with decisions by the executive or parliament can only raise it through the Courts for review but which is limited to Supreme Court judgements.
In the planned review, any person unhappy with such rulings of the highest court will be forced to collect at least two million signatures from Kenyans in support of the move.
The Independent electoral and boundaries commission (IEBC) will then conduct a referendum over the matter.
The recent ruling on LGBTQ and the August 2022 presidential election ruling are some of the issues which have been at the heart of a storm among a section of Kenyans.
The Court did not, however, declare LGBTQ legal in a longstanding dispute.
The judges instead issued a ruling allowing the registration of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) associations.
"It would be unconstitutional to limit the right to associate through denial of registration of an association purely on the basis of the sexual orientation of the applicants," the court ruled.
A cross-section of leaders has already voiced their concerns rejecting the decision.
President William Ruto broke his silence Wednesday saying he will not allow the country to head in that direction as Kenya had values that need to be respected.
“We respect the Court but… I will not allow it in Kenya. We have our culture and traditions, we respect our constitution and all our religions,” he said.
