High Court declares CJ Maraga advisory on Parliament dissolution unconstitutional
High Court declares CJ Maraga advisory on Parliament dissolution unconstitutional
The High Court has ruled against an advisory issued by former Chief Justice David Maraga recommending the dissolution of Parliament over its failure to implement the two-thirds gender rule.
In its decision issued on Friday, June 5, the court found that the advisory was issued prematurely and did not meet the constitutional requirements.
According to the court, the advisory was made before the relevant court orders had been formally transmitted to Parliament and the Attorney General as required under Article 261(6)(b).
In 2020, Maraga had advised former President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve the 12th Parliament after lawmakers failed to enact legislation to implement the constitutional requirement that no more than two-thirds of elective or appointive bodies be of the same gender.
The case was heard by a five-judge bench comprising Justices Tabitha Ouya, Patricia Nyaundi, Moses Ado, Lawrence Mugambi and Jairus Ngaah.
The decision was widely anticipated as a step toward the eventual implementation of constitutional requirements linked to parliamentary representation and compliance oversight.
At the time, women in the 12th Parliament accounted for just over 21 per cent of members in the National Assembly and 31 per cent in the Senate. Currently, in the 13th Parliament, women occupy 23 per cent of seats in the National Assembly and 31.3 per cent in the Senate.
Maraga’s advisory was secured with support of former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President and Senior Counsel Nelson Havi.
“CJ David Maraga and I did our part in securing the advisory to the President to dissolve Parliament for failure of compliance with and none enactment of two-third rule laws,” he wrote in a post.
Ahead of the High Court determination, Havi commented on recent criticism directed at Maraga regarding gender issues, describing it as unwarranted considering his work to advance gender balance.
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The claims in question came after Maraga recently joined Kenyans at the anti-femicide and anti-infanticide march in Nairobi’s Central Business District on June 1.
Former Campaign Secretary Shakira Wafula, who served under Maraga’s United Green Movement (UGM) party, has alleged on social media that women were sidelined in the handling of sexual harassment complaints during his 2025 campaign.
In response, UGM said due process was followed, including the establishment of an Ad-Hoc Complaint Committee that heard the allegations, though Wafula reportedly declined to submit written complaints initially and later did not participate in the official hearing on November 26, 2025.
UGM said that the committee found no evidence supporting her claims after that.
The party clarified that Maraga was not personally the subject of any harassment claims and dismissed Wafula’s recent statements as public disinformation and character assassination, stating that women continue to play a central role in Maraga’s 2027 campaign.
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