Lawyers want seven judges to hear appeal
Bernice Mbugua @BerniceMuhindi
Two lawyers representing some of the petitioners who challenged the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) process now want the Court of Appeal President to constitute a Bench of not less than seven judges to hear the appeal.
LSK President Nelson Havi and lawyer Morara Omoke, in separate letters to the Court of Appeal President Daniel Musinga, state that the intended appeals by Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the Secretariat to the BBI and Attorney General against the High Court judgment are complex and breadth of the issues raised by the consolidated petitions have great public interest.
“The issues presented in the three applications and the intended appeals raise substantial questions of law.
A certification to that effect was made by the High Court on November 30, 2020.
It is on that basis that the Chief Justice assigned the consolidated petitions giving rise to the three applications to five judges of the High Court for determination,” says Havi in the letter.
They also want the appeal heard in an open court, saying complexity of the issues to be addressed at the hearing of the three applications and the intended appeals make a virtual hearing inappropriate for this matter.
“The attendance in open court may be regulated by limiting the number of advocates in court to the advocate (s) submitting at any particular point in time,” states Havi.
