In Kenya, court asked to declare parliament unconstitutional due to breach of gender rule

Two Kenyan citizens have filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve Kenya's Parliament due to its failure to meet the Two-Thirds Gender Rule. In their petition, Peter Odhiambo Agoro and Anthony Murimi Wachira want the High Court to declare "Parliament illegal and unconstitutional in its current composition." "This petition discloses overwhelming grounds for declaring Parliament's composition as illegal and unconstitutional for being inconsistent with the Constitution," they said. According to the Constitution, no more than two-thirds of any elected body should be of the same gender, but efforts to enforce this provision have faced challenges. [ . . . ] Since 2012, court rulings have mandated Parliament to enact legislation enforcing the gender rule under threat of dissolution. However, previous efforts have failed amid accusations from female MPs that male lawmakers are deliberately obstructing progress.
Read the full article here: All Africa