Uhuru gets lifeline as court rules retired presidents can engage in politics

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The High Court has handed former President Uhuru Kenyatta a lifeline after declaring sections of law that barred retired presidents from engaging in active politics unconstitutional.

High Court Judge Bahati Mwamuye, in his judgment, said that it is unfair to lock out a retired President from politics as he immediately returns to private citizen life after handing power.

He was of the view that a retired President has no coercive and Executive authority of the State.

“ The office of President is held for a constitutionally defined period. Upon cessation of office, the former President ceases to exercise the coercive and executive authority of the State. The person thereafter stands in a fundamentally different constitutional position: he or she is a private citizen, albeit one who has previously occupied the highest elective office in the Republic,” said Justice Mwamuye.

The judge, in a case filed by Sheria Mtaani na Shadrack Wambui, further said that it was ironic for Parliament to assign a consultative and advisory role to the government while at the same time blocking him or her from engaging in politics.

“It would therefore be constitutionally incongruous to recognize the former President as a person whose counsel may be sought by Government and whose experience may benefit the people of Kenya, while simultaneously imposing a statutory disability which substantially restricts his or her participation in the political process merely because of the office previously held,” he said.

Justice Mwamuye’s judgment contradicts Justice Lawrence Mugambi’s verdict, who held that it was reasonable for a retired President to keep off politics.

He declared Section 4(1), 4(2), and 4(3) of the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act unconstitutional.

The court also barred Parliament from either withholding or withdrawing Uhuru’s benefits because he participates in politics.