Justice Anthony Mrima on Tuesday suspended the decision, which was to take effect from December 21, until a suit challenging its legality is heard and determined.
Enock Aura moved to court arguing that the directive issued in November by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe was illegal and a violation of the rights of Kenyans.
Mr Kagwe had said the directive was aimed at getting more Kenyans to get the jab.
The High Court has temporarily suspended a Ministry of Health directive seeking to bar unvaccinated people from accessing in-person services in government offices.
Justice Anthony Mrima on Tuesday suspended the decision, which was to take effect from December 21, until a suit challenging its legality is heard and determined. The case is set to be heard on January 4, 2022.
Enock Aura moved to court arguing that the directive issued in November by Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe was illegal and a violation of the rights of Kenyans.
Mr Aura argued that barring unvaccinated Kenyans from using public service is an affront to the right to freedom of movement.
He further submitted that unless Mr Kagwe's directive was checked, thousands of tax-paying Kenyans would be denied access to government services which they have been funding without equal benefit.
Mr Kagwe had said the directive was aimed at getting more Kenyans to get the jab.
Proof of vaccination was to rank equally with other State documents such as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) when in need of government services.
This meant that the non-vaccinated will be barred from making critical transactions such as registration of land titles, approval of development plans, transfer and licensing of motor vehicles, and registration of business names and companies.
Those without proof of full vaccination would also be stopped from services such as underwriting of insurance policies, customs clearing, and forwarding, payment of deposits for power connections as well as supplying goods and services to the State, and opening accounts with financial institutions.
The court ruling suspending the directive comes as Kenya’s coronavirus positivity rate crossed the World Health Organisation (WHO) high-risk limit of five percent for the first time since the government lifted the nationwide curfew on October 20.
Data from the Ministry of Health shows that the positivity rate — the proportion of tests coming back positive — rose to 6.5 percent on Monday from five percent recorded on Sunday amid the emergence of the infectious Omicron variant.
The government had set a target of vaccinating 10 million Kenyans by the end of the year. Only 8.1 million people have received a Covid-19 jab and more than three million have received two doses.
The suspension of the directive also comes days after a number of hotels and malls announced that they would not allow unvaccinated Kenyans into their premises.
