Court dismisses petition challenging submission of BBI report to Uhuru
High court has declined to stop the submitting of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report to President Uhuru Kenyatta.
In his ruling, Justice Weldon Korir of the Constitutional and human rights division said the petitioner researcher Moraa Gesicho has not demonstrated the prejudice she will suffer if the report is submitted to the President.
At the same time, BBI has since filed a response to the petitions seeking an order stopping the taskforce from submitting its report to the president pending the hearing and determination of the application.
The taskforce has urged the court to dismiss the application by Gericho saying its an abuse of court process and it is meant to delay the process and she is playing politics and misusing the court to gain relevance.
In an affidavits signed by the two secretaries of the taskforce Paul Mwangi and Ambassador Martin Kimani, the BBI team said the report is ready and it is undergoing editing to be submitted to the president anytime.
BBI also says that it is of fundamental importance that the two petitions are heard and determined together as the issues raised are similar and affect the proposed interested party namely BBI.
The BBI further says the applicant will suffer no prejudice if the report is submitted to the president.
"BBI stands to be greatly prejudiced if it is not afforded an opportunity to be heard in the present petition," reads court papers.
The task force says it has conducted the most extensive and participatory public participation and consultations which have resulted in the preparation of the report.
Further, BBI says they have visited the 47 counties and engaged with the youths representative ,women,people living with disabilities and the elderly.
Gesicho moved to court saying orders to declare the taskforce unconstitutional.
She informed the court that the BBI was unconstitutionally established and that should be barred from presenting the report to the president until the case before court is heard and determined.
The court has directed the main petition challenging the legality of BBI to be heard on October 16.
