Atwoli reacts on Court of Appeal judgement on BBI
Outspoken Central Organisation of Trade Unions Secretary General, Francis Atwoli, has urged workers across Kenya to respect the Court of Appeal judgment on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) proposals.
Atwoli acknowledged the ruling issued by the seven-judge bench led by President of the Appellate Court, Justice Daniel Musinga.
‘’Let me state that as a respecter of the law and our courts I abide by this decision, As a matter of fact, COTU (K) prides itself in being the proponent of the BBI’’ Atwoli said.
The labour leader further added that workers would not appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court, as they had shifted their attention to the upcoming 2022 general elections.
Atwoli called on leaders to find a way to solve election disputes as the workers shouldered the burden during clashes.
‘’Everything boils down to politics, and we must fix our politics since BBI was never about 2022, it was simply and squarely about two fundamental things. Dealing with the challenge of Winner-takes-all and inclusivity,’’ Atwoli said.
Atwoli further opined the Court of Appeal nullified BBI, owing to the introduction of the Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman, which would have created a direct conflict and duplication of roles of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The Court of Appeal, on August 20, 2021, upheld the High Court judgment that nullified the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Referendum Bill process.
In their judgement, the 7-judge bench agreed that the BBI process was a presidential initiative and not a popular initiative as submitted to the court by the defense team.
The seven judges were: Court of Appeal President Daniel Musinga, Justices Hannah Okwengu, Patrick Kiage, Fatuma Sichale, Gatembu Kairu, Roselyne Nambuye and Francis Tuiyo
