Court Certifies Urgent Matter Challenging Unconstitutional Presidential Directive

Nairobi, June 16. Constitutional and Human Rights Division Judge Justice Mumbi Ngugi has certified urgent a case filed on 15 June 2015 by the Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV (KELIN), The Children of GOD Relief Institute (Nyumbani) together with two persons living with HIV. The court has further directed the Petitioners, who are represented by the Firm of Messer’s Rachier & Amollo Advocates to serve the respondents and come back to court on 17 June, 2016 for the hearing of an urgent application seeking temporary orders stopping the implementation of an unconstitutional directive by the president.

The respondents in the matter are:

a. Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Health (1st Respondent)
b. The National AIDS Control Council (2nd Respondent)
c. Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (3rd Respondent)
d. Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and Co-Ordination of National Government (4th Respondent)
e. The Attorney General (5th Respondent)

The case is about a directive issued on 23 February, 2015 by the National Government, through His Excellency Hon. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta to County Commissioners to work with County Directors of Education and Medical Services, to collect up-to-date data and prepare a report on all school going children who are HIV positive, information on their guardians, number of expectant mothers who are HIV positive and number of breastfeeding mothers who are HIV positive. The data was to be collected in a prescribed data matrix that would directly link the above mentioned persons with their HIV status. For the case of the children, they would be linked to their home area and school in addition to their HIV status.

The application seeking the temporary orders will be heard on 17 June, 2015 at 9am before the duty Judge of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division.

Court Order

petition 250 of 2015