President William Ruto was dealt a blow by the High Court after Justice Bahati Mwamuye issued orders suspending his directive compelling 34 government institutions to join eCitizen platform.
“Pending the inter partes hearing and determination of the Application dated 05/12/2024, a conservatory order be and is hereby issued suspending the implementation and operation of the directive issued on 28/11/2024 compelling the 1st to 34th Interested Parties to compulsorily onboard and/or migrate to the eCitizen Services Platform,” Justice Mwamuye ordered.
Katiba Institute moved to court on Tuesday to challenge the directive.
The petitioner argues that Ruto’s directive is illegal adding that there was no public participation .
Further they argue that there are members of the public who are unable to access the government payment services by themselves and that those people will be subjected to exploitation from third parties.
“The directive lacks transparency and the force law hence it undermines the rule of law,” reads court papers.
The institution now wants the court to issue orders quashing the gazette notice and the directive issued by President Ruto to the government agencies to onboard services to the e-citizen payment platform.
The president during the first anniversary of eCitizen at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, warned the agencies’ Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to comply or face tough consequences.
