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.