Court of Appeal settles on number of judges to hear BBI case
A seven-judge bench will hear and determine the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) appeals, says the President of the Court of Appeal Justice Daniel Musinga.
He made the announcement when presiding over the Case Management Conference on the BBI appeals together with judges Roseline Nambuye and Hannah Okwengu.
Justice Musinga will constitute the seven-judge bench after being permitted by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
The appeal hearing is slated for end of June to early July.
Wednesday's conference addressed a myriad of issues about the BBI appeal including the time to be allocated for each party during the hearing.
Some of the issues agreed by both lawyers in the conference include that the seven-judge bench will preside over the case physically and not virtually to avoid perceptions.
Justice Musinga warned parties in the case to stop prosecuting the case in the media.
"Let us allow the court to make a fair decision without attacks and comments by all concerned," he said.
Lawyer James Orengo who is representing ODM leader Raila Odinga suggested that the case should be heard in the full glare of the camera.
He also requested the hearing of the case should take about four days since time is running out for the BBI initiative.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, ODM leader Raila and the BBI secretariat on Tuesday filed an appeal against a High Court ruling that nullified the BBI process.
President Uhuru has filed 17 grounds of appeal among them, the President argues that the learned judges erred in making a decision adversely affecting him yet he was not a party at the proceedings.
The Head of State also appealed against the ruling that found him guilty of contravening chapter 6 of the Constitution by initiating and promoting a constitutional amendment process under article 257.
Raila and the BBI secretariat in their submission, among other issues, argued that the High Court judges erred in their finding that the basic structure in eternity clauses and un-amendability doctrines are applicable under the Constitution of Kenya 2010
They argued that the learned judges misapprehended article 257 of the Constitution of Kenya in imposing on the promoters an obligation to conduct a nationwide public participation exercise before the collection of signatures in support of the constitutional amendment initiative
