Econet licence stays cancelled, court rules
By RICHARD MUNGUTI

THE High Court yesterday stood the decision taken by the Government to cancel a
licence allowing Econet Wireless Kenya Limited to provide mobile services.

Justice Mohammed Ibrahim said the court lacks jurisdiction to restrain the
Government from cancelling the licence issued to Econet by the Communications
Commission of Kenya (CCK). Justice Ibrahim in declining to reverse the decision
by former Minister for Information and Communication, Raphael Tuju, to cancel
the licence, said Econet was not clear over the kind of relief it was seeking.

He said the order for prohibition was granted improperly and in breach of the
principles of natural justice. "No allegations of illegality, impropriety or
irrationality were made against CCK, yet it was restrained and injuncted in
respect of some alleged deadline of payment of US$12 million which was not an
issue from the statement issued by the minister revoking the licence and
directing the commencement of the exercise anew," the judge said.

He noted that Econet was seeking an injunction but instead applied for an order
of prohibition by way of a judicial review. "In this application the prayer for
injunction was 'hidden' in a different clothing and innocuously tucked away as a
consequential order and made to appear as an integral and necessary part of the
leave and stay," Justice Ibrahim noted.

He added that "courts many times such applications are treated with a little
more sacredness and solemnity that it would otherwise deserve."

Justice Ibrahim had in November 2004 granted Econet leave to commence a suit
against the minister and CCK challenging the orders.

He had allowed the leave to operate as a stay of the minister's order to cancel
the licence issued to Econet as the third Global System for Mobile
Communications Operator (GSM) in the country. Econet was to join Safaricom and
Celtel as mobile phone providers.