The High Court in Nairobi has ordered the removal of the office of the president, Central Bank of Kenya, Safaricom, and Airtel from a case filed challenging the legality of the Hustler Fund.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye in his ruling on Wednesday, agreed with the Attorney General that the inclusion in the case filed by Benard Odero Okello and Kevin Ndoho Macharia, was done without the court’s permission.
In the application, the AG argued that it was improper to have them on board while they had been illegally listed as interested parties.
The two had named CBK, the two mobile network services providers, Kenya Commercial Bank, the Retirement Benefits Authority (RBA) and National Social Security Fund (NSSF) as interested parties.
In the case, CBK said that it had no links with the fund, now were there any orders being sought against it.
“Petitioners have failed to show any basis for the Orders sought against the fifth Interested Party with regard to sources of funds, rendering of accounts with regard to amounts already disbursed or with regard to the whereabouts of retained funds all of which the fifth Interested Party has no nexus, connect role or in any other way engaged whether in fact, legislation, regulation, guideline or otherwise, a point duly verified by the petitioners,” argued CBK.
On the other hand, Safaricom defended the fund arguing that all Kenyans have a right to access money from the government. It however argued that its role was to only facilitate them access the money through its M-Pesa platform.
Safaricom’s senior legal Isaac Kibeere told the court that only those who consent or agree to join Hustler Fund are allowed to borrow and pay back the money at a later date.
“I verily believe that at the point of registering or joining the Fund, subscribers have the right and option to accept or reject the terms and conditions which govern the use and operation of the Fund,” he said.
He also argued there was no specific claim against in relations to the operation of the fund.
“There are no prayers sought against the sixth Interested Party in the application and petition. In the circumstances, I verily believe that the inclusion of the sixth Interested Party in this proceedings is unnecessary and an abuse of the Court process,” argued Kibeere.
He observed that the crust of the case was that there was no board which ought to run the Hustler Fund.
In the meantime, the National Assembly asked the court to allow it join the case as the dispute revolved around its decision to anchor the Hustler Fund on the Finance Act 2022.
