Nairobi — Chief Registrar of Judiciary Anne Amadi has outlined that only four lawyers from each party will be allowed in the pre-trial and hearing of the presidential petition.
Amadi noted that each of the petitioners, respondents and interested parties will only have a team of four lawyers representing them.
"You saw that the parties had large teams and the numbers will have to be restricted because the space cannot be able to accommodate them," she said.
"We don't have to have issues with crowd management during the hearing..Each team will have about four lawyers which is still being negotiated."
The Chief Registrar of Judiciary said that all the seven judges will be present for the hearing and determination of the petitions.
This is unlike in 2017 where a 6 judge bench heard and determined the petition after Justice Ibrahim Mohamed opted out due to health challenges.
"This time round we expected all the seven judges to participate and be present for the petition," Amadi said.
The Supreme Court will hear and determine the interlocutory applications filed before the court.
Interlocutory applications are used to ask the court to make certain orders particularly when one party believes that the other has not complied with legal obligations.
Over 20 interlocutory applications have been submitted before the apex court and the determination of the same are expected before the pre-trial conference slated for tomorrow at 11:00AM.
"As at tomorrow morning all the rulings in regards to interlocutory application we have been delivered so that the pretrial begins without any pending applications," Amadi noted.
Already, a High-Level Panel of Eminent African Jurists has arrived in Kenya to observe the proceedings of the presidential election petition at the Supreme Court.
The Jurists are Members of the Africa Judges and Jurists Forum (AJJF).
The 2022 Trial Observation Mission is headed by the Rtd Chief Justice of Tanzania Mohammed Chande Othman.
Other delegation members include Lady Justice Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza of the Supreme Court of Uganda, Lady Justice Ivy Kamanga from Supreme Court of Appeal of Malawi, Justice Moses Chinhengo from Court of Appeal, Lesotho, and Justice Henry Boissie Mbha, President Electoral Court of South Africa.
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The eminent jurists will attend all Supreme Court hearings, monitor and document the presidential election petition based on International human rights standards of fair trial standards, analyse the role and independence of the Judiciary in examining the electoral disputes and review the socio-political climate in the run-up to the Petition.
At the end of the trial observation, the observers will develop a comprehensive report aiming at contributing to a more professional, independent, impartial, and accountable Judiciary, a more independent legal profession, and better adherence to the rule of law and international legal standards concerning the resolution of electoral disputes.
The Observation Mission will include bilateral meetings before the hearings with the Parties to the Petition, including the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), and the Attorney General.
The meetings aim to introduce the eminent jurists to the stakeholders of the Petition and make them aware of the process and its modalities
