Supreme Court Saves Uhuru In Ksh. 500B SGR Deal
Uhuru flags off SGR
Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta reprieved after the Supreme court today overturned the Court of Appeal ruling stating that the Former Head of state flouted procurement laws in the Ksh. 500B Standard Gauge Metre Railway (SGR) contract between Kenya and China.
The judges in their ruling noted that the SGR project, signed during Uhuru’s first term, was undertaken in conformity with the provisions of Article 227 of the Constitution.
They further indicated that the procurement was undertaken as a government-to-government contract and hence freed from the provisions of the Public Procurement Disposal Act, 2005.
” The procurement process for SGR was undertaken in conformity of article 227 of the Constitution. The procurement was undertaken as a government-to-government contract and hence exempt from the provisions of the Public Procurement Disposal Act, 2005 by virtues of section 6(1) of the said Act”.
“In addition, the SGR project was subject to interrogation before Parliament in two committees, and none of the respondents opted to be involved. The said parliamentary process, which is open to the public, cleared the projects. Under our constitutional design, the people have the power to exercise their oversight power through elected representatives who are domiciled in Parliament. Whether a citizen agrees with or was satisfied with what was undertaken is a matter of conjecture, provided that the laid-out procedure was followed.
“In the premises, we respectfully disagree with the appellate court and hold that the procurement process for the SGR project met the requirements of Article 227 of the Constitution as read together with the provisions of the PPDA, 2005,” the verdict read by DCJ Mwilu partly stated.
The five judges who made the ruling are:Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu, Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u and Wiliam Ouko.
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