Petitioners in poll case against Uhuru's victory list grievances

Rights activist Njonjo Mue addresses journalists at Kenya Human Rights Commission's office in Nairobi on September 4, 2017. He has accused the Jubilee administration of misusing state resources. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Mue and Mr Khelef accuse Jubilee of using its numbers in Parliament to push for amendments of electoral laws.
  • They argue that the election was voided with the withdrawal of Mr Odinga and Nasa from the race.

The withdrawal of Nasa candidate Raila Odinga from the October 26 repeat presidential election is one of the grounds that the three petitioners are relying on to have the outcome of the poll overturned.

Former assistant minister Harun Mwau has separately filed a petition in the Supreme Court, which raises grounds similar to those raised by rights activist and lawyer Njonjo Mue and Mr Khelef Khalifa of Kura Yangu Sauti Yangu civil society group.

In an affidavit filed in support of a petition challenging the presidential vote outcome, Mr Mue and Mr Khelef accuse Jubilee of using its numbers in Parliament to push for amendments of electoral laws, which “were designed to minimise and circumvent the full import and the reach of the Supreme Court’s decision of September 1”.

NULLIFY ELECTION
They argue that the haste with which the said amendments were enacted and the disregard of critical voices including Mr Odinga, civil society, faith-based groups, dissenting political actors and election observer missions catalysed heightened tension and voter polarisation in the period leading up to the repeat presidential election.

The two are represented by lawyer Julie Soweto while Mr Mwau is represented by Mr Benjamin Musyoki.

Mr Mue, together with Mr Khalifa, in their 34-page affidavit, want the outcome of the poll nullified, arguing that the election was voided with the withdrawal of Mr Odinga and Nasa from the race.

CYRUS JIRONGO

He has also said the election was invalid because the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) included the name of Shakhalaga Khwa Jirongo before gazetting his name.

The decision to include Mr Jirongo’s name was disclosed by Commissioner Abdi Guliye in an interview he conducted while on a trip to Dubai on October 18 and published in the print media on October 23.

Mr Guliye admitted that Mr Jirongo had not been gazetted as a candidate as at October 25.

The same grounds have been raised in the petition filed by Mr Mwau.

CAMPAIGNS
The petitioners fault IEBC, saying it disregarded the withdrawal of Mr Odinga, yet he commands a unique and special constitutional construct and place of political parties in Kenya’s democracy.

“The 1st and 2nd Respondent’s action ignored the fact that the 4th Respondent was not only a coalition of a number of political parties representing a significant diversity of voters, but also a distinct entity from its candidates, thus entitled to separate audience,” he said.

Mr Mue further said the commission was discriminatory because five presidential candidates had only two official days to campaign.

AKOMBE SAGA

He has further cited the memo by former IEBC commissioner Roselyn Akombe, who resigned and fled to the USA, saying it reveals a myriad of inherent disorganisation and external interference at the commission.

The petition has also cited the appointment of returning officers and their deputies, which the High Court had found to have been done illegally.

The decision was, however, reversed by the Court of Appeal.

WOMEN BRIGADE
Mr Mue claims President Uhuru Kenyatta met some 10,000 women supporters at State House, Nairobi, and officially launched Jubilee Women Brigade.

According to him, Women Brigade were dressed in military and police uniforms, saluted and used designations and descriptions reserved for the military and the police.

In their affidavits, they also accuse the Jubilee administration of misusing state resources.

POLL BOYCOTT
In a cross-petition, Institute of Democratic Governance seeks to have opposition leaders led by Mr Odinga held liable for violence and damages during the repeat presidential election.

The organisation, through lawyer Kioko Kilukumi, accuses Nasa leaders of engaging in electoral malpractices during the repeat poll.

They accuse the Nasa leaders of violating the rights of the citizens and they want the court to find them unfit to hold public office.

So far, five election petitions are pending before the Supreme Court although two of them, one by activist Okiya Omtatah and another by Pokot South MP David Pkosing, had been filed earlier.