Kenya court’s BBI rebuff may throw 2022 poll wide open

Significance

If the ruling stands, it would force authorities to abandon plans for a national referendum on the reforms.

Impacts

• If the case reaches the Supreme Court, it will present a major test for new Chief Justice Martha Koome, setting the tone for her term.
• Criticisms in pro-government circles of alleged judicial activism will put increasing political pressure on senior judges.
• Politicisation of the judiciary’s role may encourage authoritarian leaders elsewhere to exert greater control over judicial appointments.