The High Court declared the Supreme Court’s Presidential Election Petition Amendment Rules unconstitutional.

Justice Mugure Thande of the High Court made the ruling on Wednesday, arguing that the Supreme Court did not adhere to Public Participation requirements for usurpation of the parliament’s authority.

The rules restricted parties from publicly examining and commenting on proceedings before the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“The High Court finds that the Supreme Court (Presidential Election Petition Amendment Rules) 2022 are declared unconstitutional for Not adhering to Public Participation requirements for usurpation of the authority of Parliament,” Thande said.

Furthermore, Thande declined to stay her judgement on Chief Justice Martha Koome.

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Koome said in May that lawyers could not discuss a Presidential Election Petition Amendment Rules matter until judgement has been delivered.

She also cautioned that failure to comply with the rules would be tantamount to contempt.

"Upon commencement of the hearing of the petition by the Court, litigants, their advocates and advocates' agents shall refrain from expressing their opinion on merit, demerit or predict the outcome of the petition in any manner that would prejudice or impede Court proceedings, until judgement is delivered," the amendments partly read.

Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi and former President of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) Nelson Havi have welcomed Thande’s ruling.

“This is a serious Indictment of CJ KOOME. She was both naïve and unnecessarily exuberant in trying to gag lawyers like myself and NelsonHavi ...from our civic duty to educate Kenyans on the happenings of the Supreme Court...and what was CJ Koome trying to hide from Kenyans?” Ahmednasir said.

“The attempt to gag Ahmednasir Abdullahi and Nelson Havi from publicly examining and commenting on proceedings before the Supreme Court has been timely thwarted by the High Court,” Havi said.