Following a civil society organization filed a lawsuit disputing the composition of the Uasin Gishu County Assembly, the High Court in Eldoret temporarily suspended its sessions.
Justice Wananda Anuro made the decisions in a case brought by human rights advocate Kimutai Kirui.
Justice Anuro ruled that the assembly's meetings and activities should be put on hold while the lawsuit is heard and decided.
"An order is hereby issued suspending all official sittings/meetings, deliberations by members of the county assembly of Uasin Gishu county assembly pending the hearing and determination of this application," read part order.
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After an earlier court ruling nullified the nomination of nine United Democratic Alliance (UDA) members to the assembly to meet the two-thirds criteria, Kirui filed a lawsuit.
In his petition, the Eldoret-based human rights activist stated that the assembly is not fully and legally constituted for the first sessions following a general election unless all of the members required by the constitution have been fully nominated and their names have been published in the gazette.
Kirui claims that the county assembly lacks the necessary number of members since women and other marginalized groups are not properly represented. Therefore, he claimed, the county assembly has been acting unlawfully.
He said that because the County Assembly of Uasin Gishu is not legitimately formed, it has no business conducting proceedings, discussions, or sittings.
He added that nine members' election had been contested in court, and the judge had ruled that their nominations were invalid.
After the High Court upheld a decision canceling their candidacy last month, nine UDA-nominated MCAs moved to the Court of Appeals.
The nominated MCAs had submitted a notice of appeal to halt the High Court ruling rendered by Justice Stephen Riech while their second appeal was being adjudicated.
The UDA party and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), when nominating the MCAs, relied on a list that had been ruled null and void by the political parties tribunal, Justice Riech stated in his judgment revoking nomination of the UDA nominated MCAs. Justice Riech agreed with the lower court's decision.
The Court ruled that when the party list was closed on July 27, 2017, the UDA Party lacked the authority to update, amend, or review it.
The court additionally highlighted that the IEBC rejected the political parties' tribunal's decision to invalidate the revised list in response to objections from the affected party members and continued to depend on the invalid list.
The matter will be mentioned on October 18 for further directions.
