Activists urge High Court to halt Ruto-Biden US ally deal

A group of Kenyan activists has petitioned the high court to issue orders to halt the implementation of a secret deal between President William Ruto and the US administration that designates Kenya as a non-NATO ally of the US.

The consortium of activists led by Cyprian Nyamwamu also wants the high court to suspend Ruto's secretive decision to permit the US government to build and operate a military airfield or an airport in Lamu County on the Kenyan Coast.

US President Joe Biden announced the decision to elevate Kenya to such designation in May and the activists want the high court in Kenya to put this pact on hold because it has no specified benefits for Kenyans.

According to Biden, Kenya was designated as a "major non-NATO ally", making it the first sub-Saharan African nation to receive the designation.

But Nyamwamu and other activists say the unilateral decision has been made without transparency and any apparent benefits to the Kenyan people "yet such a decision is potentially risky to Kenya's National security area and its non-aligned foreign policy".

Nyamwamu and his co-petitioners have particularly raised concerns about Ruto's decision to partner with America and its NATO allies to try suspects of terrorism and piracy crimes in Kenyan courts and presumably jail them in Kenya.

The activists argue that the claimed secret agreement between (Ruto) and US government officials, which allows the US to build a military airfield in Lamu County, is unjustified and urges the high court to halt its execution.

"A declaration be issued to declare that (Ruto) violated Articles 1,2 and 50 of the constitution by entering a secretive treaty with President Joe Biden of the USA to make Kenya a non-NATO ally of the USA without the public participation and consent of the people of Kenya and approval by Parliament," states the activists in their petition.

They want the high court to issue an order quashing that deal arguing that Ruto violated numerous Articles of the constitution and the oaths of office he took on September 13, 2022.

Nyamwamu and his associates are asking Chief Justice Martha Koome to set up a bench of five judges to determine the weighty issues they have raised in the petition.

They argue that Kenyans have a right to determine whether Ruto and Gachagua should remain in office for the remainder of their term through a referendum supervised by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries (IEBC) and they want the plebiscite held before the end of October.

For instance, Nyamwamu and the rest want the high court to declare that Ruto violated his oath of allegiance and Article 76 of the constitution in receiving gifts from foreigners in the form of paid-for jet hire and fuel costs during his state visit to the US in May 2024.

"A declaration be issued to declare that the terms of the President and his deputy are predicated upon their several and joint fidelity to their respective oaths of office, fidelity to the constitution and willful consent, public trust, favour and legitimacy in the eyes and the opinion of the people of Kenya," the petitioners argue.