Omtatah dismisses Supreme Court ruling on Finance Act
Senator Okiya Omtatah of Busia has dismissed the Supreme Court’s decision, stating that it only focused on technicalities.
This is a result of the court’s refusal to overturn orders from the Court of Appeal that withdrew the suspension of the Finance Act of 2023.
Omtatah and three other petitioners moved to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal reversed High Court judge Mugure Thande’s orders suspending the implementation of the Finance Act 2023 on June 30.
Friday, the Supreme Court declined to vacate orders from the Court of Appeals and deemed the appeal premature.
In addition, the court reprimanded the petitioners for allegedly violating Supreme Court rules.
Omtatah stated on Friday that the Court cannot invalidate a case solely due to the addition of a single page.
“The Supreme Court has ruled that we presented our case in a way that did not follow its rules that required us to present 15 pages and our submission was over 15 pages. So it seems that the court found a way to escape through that,” he said.
“The rules of procedure cannot defeat substantive justice according to the Constitution,” he opined.
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Senator Busia alleged that politics played a role in the Finance Act appeal decision.
However, he stated that the battle is not yet over and that they will convene on Wednesday in the lower courts.
“The case will officially start on Wednesday and that is when we shall face it as men in the battlefield. The case has not yet been dismissed, this was only a motion on conservatory orders that the court has declined to look at but the case is still strong,” he said.
Omtatah and three other petitioners moved to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal reversed High Court judge Thande’s orders suspending the implementation of the Finance Act 2023 on June 30.
However, the Supreme Court bench dismissed the appeal because it was submitted past the deadline.
“The four sets of written submissions filed out of time by the applicants on August 15, 2023, on the court’s online platform are hereby struck out and the applicant’s notice of motion dated August 5, 2023, is hereby dismissed,” the bench said in a ruling delivered on Friday, September 8.
The petition was considered by all of the Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Martha Koome, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, and judges Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndungu, Isack Lenaola, and William Ouko.
Omtatah dismisses Supreme Court ruling on Finance Act
