According to Omtatah, the statue of Mzee Kenyatta isn’t part of KICC and therefore shouldn’t be in the new bank notes/CFM – MOSES MUOKI
NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 15 – The ruling on whether Founding President Jomo Kenyatta’s statue is part of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) and was therefore justifiably used on the new currency notes will be rendered on September 27.
A three-judge bench on Thursday visited KICC to ascertain if the portrait of founding President is indeed part of the 28-story building as argued by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
The judges were accompanied by petitioner activist Okiya Omtatah and lawyer Ochieng Oduol representing the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
After visiting both parties agreed the date that the statue was unveiled on September 10, 1973 by then Vice President Moi, while the tower was opened the day after by former President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
They also agreed that the distance between the statue and the 28-story KICC tower is 80 meters.
CBK lawyer Ochieng Oduol argued that the distance between the statue and tower doesn’t matter because a photo depends on where one was standing when it was being taken/CFM – MOSES MUOKI
According to Omtatah, the statue of Mzee Kenyatta isn’t part of KICC and therefore shouldn’t be in the new bank notes.
He said, the logo of the KICC doesn’t display the statue and that the picture of the statue in the currency is bigger than the tower meaning the focus was on the statue.
“The important thing for me in this matter is that these are two distinct different structures, and the statue is a landscaping detail and not part of the tower,” argued Omtatah.
Parties agreed that the distance between the statue and the 28-story KICC tower is 80 meters/CFM – MOSES MUOKI
Omtatah filed a petition opposing the inclusion of the statue in the new currency notes unveiled on July 1 ahead of the demonetization of the old ones in conformity with a constitutional provision that forbids the use of individuals’ portraits on the national currency.
Omtatah said, the logo of the KICC itself doesn’t display the statue and that the picture of the statue in the currency is bigger than the tower meaning the focus was on the statue/CFM – MOSES MUOKI
CBK lawyer Ochieng Oduol argued that the distance between the statue and tower doesn’t matter because a photo depends on where one was standing when it was being taken.
Oduol said the image portrayed in the bank notes is a statue and not a portrait as the petitioner puts it.
He argued the two can’t be separated as they stand on the same parcel of land.
“The two features can’t be separated since they tell a story about ten years of independence,” Oduol claimed.
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