Human rights activist Maina Kiai. [Photo/thebigissue.co.ke]Human rights lobby group, AfriCOG, can breath a sigh of relief after the High Court barred the NGOs Coordination Board from closing it.
In a judgment delivered on Monday by Justice George Odunga, the court further ordered the Central Bank of Kenya not to freeze AfriCOG’s bank accounts.
In his Monday ruling, Odunga also stopped the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP ) from instituting any criminal proceedings under the NGOs Act relating to activities and operations of the lobby, or arresting any of its directors.
“I have said enough to show that the Notice of Motion dated September 28, 2017 is merited. I, however, agree the Central Bank of Kenya ought not to have been dragged into these proceedings. It is, however, clear that it was the NGO board misplaced letter that provoked that course of events,” Odunga is quoted by the Star as saying.
The ruling comes after AfriCOG and its directors, led by Maina Kiai, moved to court seeking to stop the government from interfering with its operations.
In the case, they had argued NGOs Coordination Board boss Mahamed Fazul, on his own accord and on behalf of the Interior CS and the NGO Board had no role whatsoever to interfere with their operations.
The lobby said Fazul’s decisions cannot be reasonably justified in a democratic society and underscored by sovereignty of the people, constitution delegation and delimitation of powers, good governance and the rule of law.