Judge throws out case to have Luo community secede from Kenya
The High Court has dismissed an application by some members of the Luo community to form their own state.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi dismissed the case seeking a referendum to allow the Luo community to secede from the Republic of Kenya and form their own country, citing alleged discrimination by successive governments.
In dismissing the class action, the Milimani High Court judge dismissed the petitioner Ojijo Mark Pascal’s case on the grounds that it was filed under the wrong legal regime.
Mr Ojijo had filed a representative case on behalf of 10,000 members of the Luo community, citing historical injustices done to the community by the present and past governments.
But Justice Mugambi said the case had been misfiled in the Constitutional Division.
The judge said Mr Ojijo, the petitioner, had failed to follow the procedures laid down in the Constitution for filing constitutional petitions.
“I have read the notice of motion together with the certificate of urgency and note this suit is commenced by way of a Plaint rather than a constitutional Petition and is therefore struck out forthwith,” Justice Mugambi ruled.
He advised the petitioner to follow the legal procedures for filing cases in court.
Independent state
Mr Ojijo moved to the Milimani court seeking an order that the Luos be allowed to form their independent state and govern themselves.
He cited irregular distribution of resources and discrimination.
The petitioner had also cited the unwarranted killing of members of the community by State agents as if “they are not Kenyans who deserve dignity and protection from security apparatus”.
The petitioner stated that statements by certain national leaders regarding the recent killing of demonstrators during anti-government protests had demeaned the community and called for the secession of the region where the community resides to form a separate State.
A section of Kenya Kwanza leaders made statements that cast Azimio’s leadership and the deceased protesters in a bad light.
The Inspector General of Police, Japheth Koome, came under scathing attack from a section of the leaders for claiming that the people allegedly killed by the police during last month’s anti-government protests were corpses rented by the Azimio leaders from various morgues to denigrate the police.