The High Court has rejected a suit filed by a man who sought to have Luos allowed to form their own independent state and govern themselves.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi said the suit by Ojijo Mark Pascal was wrongly filed.
He said Ojijo should comply with the procedures provided for filing constitutional petitions under the Constitution.
"I have read the notice of motion together with the certificate of urgency and note this suit is commenced by way of a Plaint rather than a constitutional Petition and is therefore struck out forthwith,” said Mugambi.
Ojijo, who claimed to represent some 10,000 Luos, wanted the Milimani Law Courts to order the state to cause a referendum to be held for Luos to form their own state.
He identifies himself as a presidential candidate and a Luo by ethnicity.
In his papers, he said secession is not a crime in Kenya and it is time Luos charted their own course as a people who believe in change.
He alleges that the State has repeatedly, and consistently applied excessive force on Luos during demonstrations.
Ojijo further alleges discriminatory practices have been applied in distributing resources disfavoring Luo’s
"My constitutional right to political, social, cultural and economic development has been restricted by the state. The State has also used the law and media to paint Luo’s as evil, against development and violent," he said.
"Unless the matter is addressed urgently, the ethnic profiling, discrimination, lack of development and harassment shall continue and these shall prejudice, harm and limit his right to self-determination."
Ojijio in his court papers wanted an order issued restraining the state from stopping him from self-determination activities.
The right to self-determination he said entitles the Luos to form liberation movements with the very essence being that peoples have a right to govern themselves
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