Why court is staying out of WhatsApp, ‘chama’ feuds

The High Court in Mombasa has ruled that disputes in WhatsApp groups, chamas, welfare associations and other voluntary organisations do not automatically become constitutional matters simply because a member invokes the Bill of Rights. The court warned that entertaining every such dispute under its constitutional jurisdiction would turn judges into supervisors of the internal affairs of thousands of voluntary associations across the country.

“The constitutional jurisdiction, which exists to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual and to uphold the Constitution, would be trivialised,” the court said.