President William Ruto stamps the Public Seal to confer City status on Eldoret Municipality at Eldoret Sports Club. Photo: PCS
The High Court has issued conservatory orders halting the transfer of the Public Seal from the office of the Attorney General (AG) to the Head of Public Service.
Through a ruling delivered by High Court judge Chacha Mwita on Thursday, June 12, Mwita said that the transfer raised fundamental constitutional and legal issues of public importance that must be fully heard before any action is taken.
“A conservatory order is hereby issued restraining or stopping implementation of Executive Order No. 2 of 2023 to the extent that it purports to reorganize government and transfer the Public Seal from the custody of the Office of the Attorney General to the Head of Public Service in the Executive Office of the President, until further orders of the Court,” Mwita directed.
The transition was reportedly facilitated by the National Assembly Administration Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which proposed to amend the Office of the Attorney-General Act, 2012, to strip the Attorney General power to host the Seal.
The order comes as lobby group Katiba Institute filed a petition on Wednesday; they argue that the Executive Order No. 2 of 2023 remained operational despite clearly violating the Constitution and the doctrine of separation of powers, as outlined in the constitution.
Additionally, the petitioners further argued that President William Ruto undermined the National Assembly through the Executive Order, in what they termed a blatant violation of separation of powers.
“This matter coming up for directions on the Notice of Motion and Petition, I am satisfied that the petition raises fundamental constitutional and legal matters of great public importance,” Mwita further directed.
The Public Seal plays a crucial role as a national symbol and a tool for authenticating official government documents. The transition was reportedly facilitated by the National Assembly Administration Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which proposed to amend the Office of the Attorney-General Act, 2012, to strip the Attorney General power to host the Seal.
AG Dorcas Oduor dismissed the transfer; Oduor stated that the position of the seal remains unchanged; as per the 2010 constitution, which calls for the second symbol of national unity to be held by the AG.
