Two kenyans seek parliament dissolution over gender rule
NAIROBI, Kenya July 12 – Two Kenyan citizens have filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve Kenya’s Parliament due to its failure to meet the Two-Thirds Gender Rule.
In their petition, Peter Odhiambo Agoro and Anthony Murimi Wachira want the High Court to declare “Parliament illegal and unconstitutional in its current composition.”
“This petition discloses overwhelming grounds for declaring Parliament’s composition as illegal and unconstitutional for being inconsistent with the Constitution,” they said.
According to the Constitution, no more than two-thirds of any elected body should be of the same gender, but efforts to enforce this provision have faced challenges.
Parliament has previously struggled to pass the necessary legislation to achieve gender balance.
Pending the court’s decision on their case, the petitioners are further seeking orders that Parliament be temporarily barred from carrying out its legislative functions.
Whereas this is not the first time the issue has been presented in court, the petitioners argue that a favorable ruling would strengthen efforts to uphold the rule of law.
Since 2012, court rulings have mandated Parliament to enact legislation enforcing the gender rule under threat of dissolution.
However, previous efforts have failed amid accusations from female MPs that male lawmakers are deliberately obstructing progress.
In 2020, former Chief Justice David Maraga advised former President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve the 11th Parliament, citing its failure to uphold constitutional gender provisions.
The recommendation came after six petitions were filed in court seeking Parliament’s dissolution.
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