RULING OF THE COURT
[1] The principles applicable in considering certification of matters to be heard by the Supreme Court are now well settled. The starting point is Article 163 of the Constitution which not only established the Supreme Court but also delineated its jurisdiction. Article163 (4)(b) requires that appeals lie from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court upon certification, on the basis that a matter is one of “general public importance”. The certification can be done by the Court of Appeal itself, or by the Supreme Court.
[2] The case of Hermanus Phillipus Steyn v. Giovanni Gnecchi-Ruscone [2013] eKLR, was one of the earliest cases to define that jurisdiction, in which the Supreme Court concluded thus:
"Before this Court, 'a matter of general public importance' warranting the exercise of the appellate jurisdiction would be a matter of law or fact, provided only that: its impacts and consequences are substantial, broad-based, transcending the litigation-interests of the pa…