AG Paul Kihara under Fire for Misleading President Uhuru

Attorney General Paul Kihara is under fire for misleading President Uhuru Kenya over the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) issue. This is after the High Court nullified its operation on legal grounds. 

The Attorney General (AG) is the President’s Chief Legal advisor, and failed to offer advisory services on the State driven Constitutional of Kenya Amendment Bill, 2020.

There were calls from a section of leaders demanding the dismissal of the attorney general for misleading the president. President Uhuru has been numerously blamed for disregarding court orders. The weakest link in the chain of justice is the State Law Office, which has failed in offering legal advice to the president.

The AG has already filed a petition to appeal BBI judgment. Kihara disagree with the decision made by the five-bench judge. On his part, Uhuru has maintained a studious silence over the matter that has sent shockwaves across the Kenyan political divide.

Kihara accuses Justices Chacha Mwita, George Odunga, Joel Ngugi, Teresia Matheka and Jairus Ngaah of bias and disregarding Kenya’s history of constitution making. He further states that the court’s move is a recipe for disaster. 

The Attorney General faulted the High Court for ignoring the peace process that resulted to the constitutional amendment process.

“The learned Judges of the High Court erred in law and in fact in making a finding that the President was engaged in a mission that was not clearly in violation of the Constitution but also destructive to the nation, without appreciation of the background, legitimate historical context and the policy justification for the initiative,” he stated.

Kihara is disconcerted that the Court found that the President had violated Chapter six of the Constitution of Kenya that he swore to defend. He argues that the verdict, if allowed to stand, would open an avalanche of law suits that will incapacitate his function.

The violation of the constitution is an impeachable offense. If the BBI crew fails to mount a strong legal team to reverse the ruling, president Uhuru Kenyatta risks to be impeached on the grounds of violating the constitution.  

ODM leader Raila Odinga and BBI secretariat are of the opinion that the court judgment be suspended. They want IEBC to start preparing for BBI alterations ahead of 2022. Senate Minority Leader James Orengo has promised a bruising court battle on BBI verdict.

Legal corridors reveal that chances of BBI going through the Court of Appeal are very slim. BBI Bill has glaring permissible errors.