Why court is staying out of WhatsApp, ‘chama’ feuds
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Court says disputes in WhatsApp groups, chamas, welfare associations and other voluntary organisations do not automatically become constitutional matters.
Court says disputes in WhatsApp groups, chamas, welfare associations and other voluntary organisations do not automatically become constitutional matters.
The court made the remarks while striking out a petition by a member of welfare group over their removal from its WhatsApp platform.
The principle applies equally to churches, welfare groups, chamas, clubs and other voluntary associations.
The High Court in Mombasa has ruled that disputes in WhatsApp groups, chamas, welfare associations and other voluntary organisations do not automatically become constitutional matters simply because a member invokes the Bill of Rights. The court warned that entertaining every such dispute under its constitutional jurisdiction would turn judges into supervisors of the internal affairs of thousands of voluntary associations across the country.
“The constitutional jurisdiction, which exists to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual and to uphold the Constitution, would be trivialised,” the court said.
