High Court suspends Ruto's directive on eCitizen onboarding
By Keren Ntinyari |
Justice Bahati Mwamuye, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, also blocked the removal of heads of these entities based on their failure to comply with the directive.
The High Court has suspended President William Ruto's directive compelling 34 government institutions to join the eCitizen platform.
The Katiba Institute which had moved to court to challenge the directive argued that Ruto's directive was illegal citing a lack of public participation.
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Justice Bahati Mwamuye, in a ruling delivered on Tuesday, also blocked the removal of heads of these entities based on their failure to comply with the directive.
The case was brought to the court by Kituo Cha Sheria and Hillary Mokaya, who argued that Ruto's directive, issued on November 28, was inconsistent with the Constitution.
The petitioners- Kituo Cha Sheria and Hillary Mokaya contend that the order was issued without adequate public participation and lacked the necessary legislative framework to support such a sweeping mandate.
Unrealistic timeline
They further argued that the President overstepped his authority by demanding that government agencies join the platform within a mere week, a timeline they consider unrealistic.
"Ruto's directive and its implementation contravenes the law vesting the responsibility of proper management of the affairs of the entities in their respective boards, councils or commission," they stated.
They argue that the boards, not the President, are responsible for managing the affairs of these agencies. The petitioners also highlighted the case of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), an entity they say is not subject to any other office or person in the performance of its functions, and whose independence must be preserved.
The High Court directed that Kituo Cha Sheria serve their application on the Attorney General (AG), the Cabinet Secretary for the Treasury, and the Principal Secretary for Immigration, who have been named as respondents in the case. The service of the application must be completed by 5 pm on Friday, December 13.
The case is set to be heard in full on January 31, 2024, when all parties will present their submissions. In the meantime, the court has issued an order preserving the status quo, preventing any removal of CEOs from government agencies for failing to comply with the directive.
This legal intervention comes as President Ruto's administration pushes for increased digitalization of government services, with the e-Citizen platform aimed at streamlining public services.
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