6th February 2023, Justice Ong’udi directed all parties to file their written submissions and appear before the Court on 29th March 2023 for mention of Petition E063 of 2021. This is a case by filed KELIN against the Ministry of Health asking the court to direct it account for the loss of funds received from the Global Alliance for Vaccines Immunization (GAVI) intended to support the Kenya Expanded Programme of Immunisation (KEPI).
The case had come up for hearing on 6th February 2023 for highlighting of submissions. However, the hearing could not proceed as the Ministry of Health, through its legal representative the Attorney General, had not filed any response to the Petition, despite being served with court directions to do so on four occasions: In March 2021, May 2022, July 2022, and November 2022. This reflects over one year and nine months during which the Attorney General has failed to file any response to this Petition, despite being given opportunity to do so by the Court.
The Court has now directed the parties to file submissions within 21 days, with the petitioner being required to file its submissions by 28th February 2023 and the Attorney General and the Interested Party being required to file their written submissions by 21st March 2023. The Petition will now be mentioned on 29th March 2023 to confirm that the parties have complied with the court’s orders.
KELIN (the only Petitioner in the matter) and other civil society partners requested information on the misappropriation of the funds but these requests were not responded to in accordance with the law under Article 35 of the Constitution and the Access to Information Act, 2016.[1] The Petitioner seeks various orders geared towards fostering accountability in the utilisation of public finds within the Ministry of Health. The Petitioners also seek to underscore the continued failure of the Commission on Administrative Justice failure to set norms and standards on access to information. This failure has resulted in the government wilfully ignoring requests for information from Kenyans.
This determination of this petition shall be a critical first step towards holding the government, through the Ministry of Health, accountable in the use of funds intended to provide essential health services to the public. KELIN has previously highlighted[2] that corruption in the health sector has become endemic, and currently undermines the realization of the right to the highest attainable standard of health and are disappointed that the Ministry of Health and the Attorney General have neglected to abide by their constitutional obligation to abide by court directions.
To contribute to the discussions on this forum, follow KELIN on our social media platforms: Twitter: @KELINkenya using the hashtag: #RightToInfoKe #justice2health
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelinkenya
For more information, contact:
Nyokabi Njogu
Advocate for the Petitioner
Kuwinda Lane, off Lang’ata Road, Karen C
P.O. Box 112 – 00202 KNH Nairobi
Tel: +254 790 111 578
[1] See https://www.gavi.org/sites/default/files/audit/pa/Audit%20report%20Kenya%20-%20May%202016.pdf.
[2] chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.kelinkenya.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Open-Letter-on-Corruption-in-Health-Sector_Delivered-copy_21092020.pdf
