Court nullifies Mandera boundary delineation gazette notice
The court declared Gazette Notice No. 7482 unconstitutional, null and void, and suspended the delineation exercise until proper procedures, including effective public participation, are conducted.
The High Court has quashed a gazette notice that sought to delineate urban boundaries in Mandera County, declaring the process unconstitutional for lack of public participation and statutory compliance.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye, in his judgment, ruled that Gazette Notice No. 7482 of June 14, 2024, which established an ad hoc committee for boundary delineation, was issued in breach of constitutional safeguards.
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The petition was filed by Hussein WeytanAbdirahman and Mohamed Abdi Abdirahman, both members of Parliament for Mandera Eastleigh Constituency and Lafey Constituency.
Through their advocate, Erick Kinaro, they argued that the governor and other respondents initiated the process unilaterally without involving the County Executive Committee, the Assembly, or the public as required under the Constitution and the County Governments Act.
The petitioners claimed that the exercise ignored budgetary allocations and risked inflaming clan hostilities in the sensitive region. They also warned that the unilateral process undermined accountability and transparency in county planning.
In response, the governor of Mandera, the county government, and the cabinet secretary for Lands defended the process, stating that it was anchored in the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) 2023–2027 and the Annual Development Plan 2024/25, both of which underwent public participation. They argued that public forums had been held in various constituencies, and no objections were raised at the time.
The Attorney General and the County Assembly also dismissed the petition, contending that the gazette notice was procedural and that the petition was premature since the ad hoc committee had yet to conclude its work.
Interested parties, including Yusuf Adan Haji, Abdullahi Bashir Sheikh, and Haro Abdul Ibrahim, supported this view, describing the petition as frivolous and speculative.
However, Justice Mwamuye found that the respondents failed to demonstrate meaningful and targeted public engagement specifically on the issue of boundary delineation.
He noted that while the CIDP and ADP processes allowed for some participation, they did not explicitly inform residents that urban boundary changes were under consideration.
"The gazette notice was issued in violation of Articles 1, 10, 174, 184 and 201 of the Constitution, as well as provisions of the County Governments Act and the Public Finance Management Act," the judge held.
Consequently, the court declared Gazette Notice No. 7482 unconstitutional, null and void, and suspended the delineation exercise until proper procedures, including effective public participation, are conducted.
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