26.
In the Mombasa High Court Constitutional Petition No. 159 of 2018 consolidated with
Constitutional Petition No. 201 of 2019 William Odhiambo Ramogi & 3 others v Attorney General
& 4 others; Muslims for Human Rights & 2 others (Interested Parties) (supra) went on to say:
59.
However, our case law has developed a number of exceptions to the doctrine of exhaustion.
In R. vs Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (I.E.B.C.) & Others ex parte
The National Super Alliance Kenya (NASA) (supra), after exhaustively reviewing Kenya's
decisional law on the exhaustion doctrine, the High Court described the rst exception thus:
What emerges from our jurisprudence in these cases are at least two principles:
while, exceptions to the exhaustion requirement are not clearly delineated, Courts
must undertake an extensive analysis of the facts, regulatory scheme involved,
the nature of the interests involved – including level of public interest involved
and the polycentricity of the issue (and hence the ability of a statutory forum
to balance them) to determine whether an exception applies. As the Court of
Appeal acknowledged in the Shikara Limited Case (supra), the High Court may,
in exceptional circumstances, nd that exhaustion requirement would not serve the
values enshrined in the Constitution or law and permit the suit to proceed before
it. This exception to the exhaustion requirement is particularly likely where a party
pleads issues that verge on Constitutional interpretation especially in virgin areas or
where an important constitutional value is at stake. See also Moat Kamau and 9
Others vs Aelous (K) Ltd and 9 Others.)
27.
60.
As observed above, the rst principle is that the High Court may, in exceptional circumstances
consider, and determine that the exhaustion requirement would not serve the values enshrined
in the Constitution or law and allow the suit to proceed before it. It is also essential for the Court
to consider the suitability of the appeal mechanism available in the context of the particular
case and determine whether it is suitable to determine the issues raised.
61.
The second principle is that the jurisdiction of the Courts to consider valid grievances from
parties who lack adequate audience before a forum created by a statute, or who may not have
the quality of audience before the forum which is proportionate to the interests the party
wishes to advance in a suit must not be ousted. The rationale behind this precept is that
statutory provisions ousting Court’s jurisdiction must be construed restrictively. This was
extensively elaborated by Mativo J in Night Rose Cosmetics (1972) Ltd v Nairobi County
Government & 2 others [2018] eKLR.
62.
In the instant case, the Petitioners allege violation of their fundamental rights. Where a suit
primarily seeks to enforce fundamental rights and freedoms and it is demonstrated that the
claimed constitutional violations are not mere “bootstraps” or merely framed in Bill of Rights
language as a pretext to gain entry to the Court, it is not barred by the doctrine of exhaustion.
This is especially so because the enforcement of fundamental rights or freedoms is a question
which can only be determined by the High Court.
The Petition is anchored on the use of personal data without the consent of the Petitioners. The issues
raised in the Petition are extensively covered in the Data Protection Act, 2019. In particular, section 65
of the said Act as relied upon by the Respondent provides as follows:
“65.
kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/237212/
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