Court of Appeal suspends case on lawyer Ahmednasir's ban by Supreme Court
By Maureen Kinyanjui |
The parties involved will now coordinate with the President of the Court of Appeal to arrange for a five-judge bench.
The Court of Appeal on Tuesday suspended High Court proceedings regarding the indefinite ban imposed by the Supreme Court on lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi and his associates.
In January, Ahmednasir was barred from appearing before the Supreme Court over what the court said was consistently making distasteful remarks against it and its judges on various media platforms.
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Now Justices Pauline Nyamweya, Aggrey Muchelule, and George Odunga have ruled that the case will remain suspended until an appeal by Supreme Court judges is resolved.
The appeal was lodged after High Court Judge Chacha Mwita asserted that the High Court has jurisdiction to hear the case, which was filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) to challenge the ban imposed on Ahmednasir on January 18, 2024.
Justice Mwita stated that the High Court has to determine whether Ahmednasir's rights and freedoms under the Bill of Rights have been violated, indicating that the issues fall within the court's jurisdiction.
"The court has a duty to determine whether his rights and fundamental freedoms in the Bill of Rights have been violated," he said.
However, Supreme Court judges had previously asked the High Court not to take on the case, arguing that it would violate the hierarchy of the court system.
They subsequently appealed Judge Mwita's decision, seeking the Court of Appeal's intervention.
In their Tuesday ruling, the appellate judges confirmed that proceedings before Justice Mwita would be paused until the appeal is heard and decided.
They also noted that the request for a five-judge bench to hear the case, made by lawyer Issa Mansour, representing Ahmednasir's law firm, was not opposed.
The parties involved will now coordinate with the President of the Court of Appeal to arrange for a five-judge bench.
The Court of Appeal registry is expected to set a hearing date for the civil appeal in December after all necessary submissions have been filed.
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