The High Court has invalidated an advisory from former Chief Justice David Maraga suggesting the dissolution of Parliament for not implementing the two-thirds gender rule.
In its judgment delivered on Friday, June 5, the court determined that the advisory was made prematurely and failed to satisfy constitutional requirements.
The court noted that the advisory was issued before necessary court orders were properly communicated to Parliament and the Attorney General, as stipulated by Article 261(6)(b).
Back in 2020, Maraga had recommended to former President Uhuru Kenyatta the dissolution of the 12th Parliament, as legislators had not passed laws to meet the constitutional provision limiting elective or appointive bodies to no more than two-thirds of the same gender.
A five-member judicial panel, including Justices Tabitha Ouya, Patricia Nyaundi, Moses Ado, Lawrence Mugambi and Jairus Ngaah, presided over the case.
The ruling was eagerly awaited as a potential advancement toward the eventual fulfillment of constitutional mandates related to parliamentary representation and adherence to oversight.
During that period, women constituted slightly more than 21 percent of National Assembly members and 31 percent of Senate representatives in the 12th Parliament. Presently, women hold 23 percent of National Assembly seats and 31.3 percent in the Senate.
Maraga’s advisory was obtained with the assistance of former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) head and Senior Counsel Nelson Havi.
“Former CJ David Maraga and I contributed to obtaining the presidential advisory to dissolve Parliament due to non-compliance and failure to enact laws implementing the two-thirds rule,” he stated in a posting.
Prior to the High Court’s decision, Havi addressed recent criticism targeting Maraga on gender matters, asserting it was unjust given his efforts to promote gender equality.
These criticisms arose after Maraga participated in an anti-femicide and anti-infanticide demonstration in Nairobi’s central business area on June 1.
Shakira Wafula, former campaign secretary for Maraga’s United Green Movement (UGM) party, has claimed on social media that women were marginalized in certain matters.
UGM countered that proper procedures were followed, including the creation of an Ad-Hoc Complaint Committee that examined the allegations, though Wafula reportedly refused to provide written complaints initially and later abstained from the official hearing on November 26, 2025.
The committee subsequently discovered no evidence substantiating her claims.
The party clarified that Maraga himself was not the target of any harassment allegations and characterized Wafula’s recent statements as false information and character attacks, asserting that women remain integral to Maraga’s 2027 presidential campaign.