This month, the Appeal Court in Nairobi is to rule on whether President Uhuru Kenyatta’s reform plan is constitutional – a decision that could sway the outcome of national elections in a year’s time. Kenya’s elite politicians, including former prime minister Raila Odinga and President Kenyatta on one side, and current Vice President William Ruto on the other, are hoping the court will give them the advantage.
The Judges are to assess the High Court’s declaration in May that the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) – an elaborate plan billed to end “winner takes all” ethnic politics – is unconstitutional. This follows two deadly bouts of election violence, in 2007-2008 and 2017, in which most of the country’s political elite played a role.