Senator Omtatah petitions JSC to remove Appeal Court Judges over Kenya-US Health deal
Senator Omtatah petitions JSC to remove Appeal Court Judges over Kenya-US Health deal
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has filed a petition before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) seeking the removal of three Court of Appeal judges who suspended High Court orders blocking the Kenya-US Health Cooperation Framework.
In the petition filed on Friday, May 29, Omtatah accuses the judges of mishandling an appeal arising from a High Court ruling that had issued conservatory orders halting implementation of the controversial health deal.
The judges stayed the conservatory orders on May 12, 2026, but deferred their written reasons until October, a delay Omtatah argues has triggered a constitutional crisis.
“Today, I have petitioned the Judicial Service Commission to investigate three Court of Appeal judges who suspended High Court orders blocking the Kenya-US Health Cooperation Framework, but withheld their reasons for doing so until October 2026,” Omtatah stated.
“On May 12, 2026, the Court of Appeal bench comprising Justices Kimaru, Munyao and Okello issued an order staying the High Court conservatory orders. However, the judges did not provide reasons for their decision and instead stated that the full reasons would only be delivered on October 30, 2026, nearly five months later,” Omtatah added.
In his petition, Omtatah argues that the absence of written reasons has blocked any meaningful appeal before the Supreme Court, which he says undermines his constitutional right of appeal under Article 163.
He further claims that without the judges’ reasoning, it is impossible to challenge the legal basis of the ruling or allow the Supreme Court to properly assess constitutional and jurisdictional issues arising from the case.
According to the senator, by the time the reasons are eventually issued in October, the effects of the Kenya-US health cooperation framework will already be irreversible, including the transfer of sensitive health data and major financial commitments.
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“By the time the Court of Appeal eventually delivers its reasons in October 2026, the consequences will already be irreversible. Sensitive health data will already have been transferred. Massive fiscal commitments will already have been undertaken,” he stated.
The ruling in question followed Omtatah’s earlier petition seeking to suspend the Kenya-US health pact, although the senator insists the latest petition is not driven by dissatisfaction with the outcome of the case.
He instead argues that issuing immediately enforceable orders without accompanying reasons undermines the constitutional right of appeal and weakens the authority of the Supreme Court.
“The complaint is not that the judges ruled against me. It is that they adopted a procedure that obstructs timely constitutional review,” Omtatah stated.
In the contested ruling delivered on May 13, the Court of Appeal granted an interim stay of conservatory orders previously issued by the High Court, effectively restoring the government’s operational control over the Ksh322 billion health partnership signed between Kenya and the United States in December 2025.
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