Three activists have filed a lawsuit seeking to declare the current Parliament illegal and unconstitutional due to the unfilled seat of MP for Banisa Constituency following the death of MP Kulow Hassan in March.
“In the absence of a Member of Parliament for Banisa Constituency, then the National Assembly cannot transact business as its unconstitutionally constituted,” reads court papers.
According to court papers, on April 21 National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula declared a vacancy in the Banissa constituency seat paving way for a by-election.
However even though the law provides that a by-election ought to have been held within ninety (90) days of the occurrence of the vacancy none has been held to date.
They want the court to stop the National Assembly from undertaking any further constitutionally mandated activities pending the hearing and final determination of their case.
Banisa constituency has been without an MP since March 2023 following the death of MP Kulow Hassan.
Hassan died after he was hit by a motorbike on March 25, 2023, in Nairobi.
IEBC has not been able to conduct a by-election for Banisa Constituency owing to the delayed recruitment of new commissioners. .
They argue that further delays by IEBC in conducting the by-election will cause distress among constituents of Banisa.
“The people of Banissa Constituency have been deprived of, a person of their choice to represent their interests in the national assembly in line with Articles 94 and 95 of the Constitution,” reads court papers.
