Raymond Moi: BBI appeal will succeed

Rongai MP Raymond Moi. [Kipsang Joseph,Standard]

Rongai Member of Parliament Raymond Moi has exuded confidence in the battery of lawyers picked to appeal the High Court ruling that annulled the Constitution Amendment Bill 2020.

Raymond spoke during the launch of a newly built Konoyo Primary School in Soin Ward fully funded by the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) in the 2019/2020 financial year. 

"I have high hopes that the lawyers will convince the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling made by the High Court. Filing an appeal is the right direction to ensure the needed amendments are done," said Moi. 

Attorney-General Kihara Kariuki will lead the six-member team comprising of Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto and Paul Mwangi who was a joint secretary in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) task force, Prof Ben Sihanya, Prof Kibe Mungai and lawyer Jackson Awele.

The team picked by President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition chief Raila Odinga on Monday announced that they had come up with fifteen grounds that they intend to use in the appeal.

"We urge the team to ensure they leave no loopholes while presenting their case. Great caution should be exercised to give Kenyans a chance to make the desired changes," he said. 

Rongai Member of Parliament Raymond Moi (right) at Kinoyo Primary School in Soi Ward on May 17, 2021. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

The legislator pointed out that the issues relied on to dismiss the Bill do not supersede the public good of the proposed changes which have the backing of a sizable Kenyan population.

"It is a fact that there was public participation on the Bill and Kenyans supported it. Members of County Assembly (MCAs) and Members of Parliament reiterated the stand of the people they represent in the respective ways they voted," said Moi. 

He dismissed opponents of the BBI noting that their celebrations for the High Court ruling will be short-lived adding that a delay in hearing the appeal would plunge the country into a crisis. 

"We urge the judges at the Court of Appeal to ensure the case is determined expeditiously to beat the constitutional timelines. There is nothing to celebrate about the ruling as the document contains solutions to many challenges facing the country," he said. 

The MP who is a member of the Standing Committee on Trade added that they were looking into ways of resuscitating the economy with a focus on the spiralling cost of fuel. 

"As a committee, we are deliberating on how the fuel prices can be put at manageable levels. Fuel prices have a great effect on the cost of living, a burden which we must strive to ease on Kenyans amid the current pandemic," he said. 

Rongai MP Raymond Moi (right) with NGCDF Chair Dr Richard Moindi at Kinoyo Primary School. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

He explained that Konoyo Primary School whose idea was conceived prior to the pandemic has come to the aid of learners amid the new regulations to safely reopen schools. 

"With only Sh5.5 million we have managed to set up a new school with seven classrooms. These will help decongest the populated Athinai and Kaptich primary schools,” said Moi. 

The school’s Board of Management (BOM) chairperson Ambrose Sembele explained that the facility has been granted a warm welcome by the residents whose children had to trek for kilometres daily. 

“Already we have 300 learners enrolled from Grade One to Grade Four. The surrounding area is populated and is a new village that came up after Greek national Harris Horn sold part of his land to the community,” said Sembele.