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Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale when he appeared before Justice Patricia Nyaundi at the Milimani High Court in Nairobi, on June 23, 2026. [Nancy Gitonga, Standard]
Our history, just with the histories of many African nations, reveal that Africa and the world has struggled with what the late Prof HWO Ogendo describes as ‘constitutions without constitutionalism’. That is a culture where the Constitution and the rule of law mean nothing rather than just being ornamental. It is the sure way of operation that the post-colonial state in Kenya deployed to take to the drain all the progressive clauses of the independent Constitution through destructive structural amendments.
In the new dawn of our current Constitution, the amendments appetite has not succeeded a decade on, but there is another ogre that we must face as a country, that of blatant impunity by disobedience of court orders. Mr Duale is just a new entrant to this field, with many others before him, the most notorious in the minds of Kenyans being former Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i during the illegal deportation of Miguna Miguna. The number of flouted orders at the time leaves a shameful mark in history.
Back to Duale, Katiba Institute approached the High Court to hold him in contempt over the flouting of orders of the court barring the construction of the United States Ebola facility. The court, in its ruling on June 22, 2026, found the Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) in contempt of the court orders and directed for a hearing of his sentencing and mitigation on June 23, 2026. On that date, Justice Patricia Nyaundi allowed the parties before it to be heard.
