Nairobi — Will the Supreme Court set another precedent and create history as it prepares to hear and determine Azimio Leader Raila Odinga's presidential petition?
Well, that is the big question that many are pondering with as the apex court in the land prepares to listen to arguments from a battery of lawyers on the grand petition set to be filed Monday to challenge the victory handed to Deputy President William Ruto following the August 9, 2022, General Election.
Odinga has disputed the presidential results and has until Monday at 2.00 pm to file his petition. Any other Kenyan aggrieved with the election results can also file the petition.
Sources have told Capital FM News that apart from Odinga, there is likely to be two or three other petitions to challenge Ruto's win.
"We want to see justice done," Odinga said Sunday after a meeting with religious leaders, "we will be asking the court to invalidate Ruto's purported victory."
Seven Judges of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Martha Koome, will listen to the case in which Odinga and his supporters will be hoping for a favourable ruling.
"We have decided to go to the Supreme Court to table our evidence and show that it was not an election but a big joke," Odinga said of the declaration by IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati declaring Ruto the winner.
The Judges will be conducting the hearing at the Milimani Law Courts.
Judiciary officials said the decision to shift the court's base from Nairobi Central Business District (CBD), where it is located, was informed by the limited space.
The former Prime Minister lost narrowly to Ruto, who was declared President-Elect by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati on August 15, 2022.
Ruto, who vied on his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket, garnered 7, 176, 141 votes against Odinga's 6,942, 930 votes.
It was Ruto's first successive attempt at the Presidency while Odinga was making his fifth stab.
Odinga has lined up a team of seasoned lawyers who will submit arguments on his behalf with the
They include - Senior Counsels Pheroze Nowrojee, Philip Murgor, James Orengo, and Amos Wako.
Kenyans will be treated to a legal battle of wits as the respondents in the case - IEBC and Ruto have also lined up a star-studded legal team.
Lawyer Fred Ngatia will lead Ruto's defense legal team to defend their client's victory. At the same time, the electoral body will be headed by former Attorney General Githu Muigai, who will have his work cut out in defending the results released by Chebukati.
Whereas Odinga will be doing the heavy lifting in the case, the IEBC will also share the weight after four of its Commissioners disowned the results which Chebukati released.
Odinga has accused Chebukati of bungling the election and subverting the people's will, accusations which have been reinforced by the four Commissioners led by IEBC Vice Chair Juliana Cherera.
-2017 Presidential Petition-
Odinga is hopeful that the Koome-led bench will yet again vindicate him after his successful petition that annulled the victory of the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta turned ally in 2017.
Former Chief Justice David Maraga, who chaired the bench, then ruled in favor of Odinga when he declared that the election was "invalid, null and void" and ordered a repeat election largely boycotted by Odinga.
The shock ruling was a rare example of a poll result being overturned, with Maraga saying IEBC had "failed, neglected or refused to conduct the presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the constitution."
He validated Odinga's argument that there had been "irregularities and illegalities," in the transmission of election results.
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Maraga said this had compromised the "integrity of the entire presidential election.
-Key Timelines-
Once Odinga files the petition on Monday, the court will have 14 days to hear and determine it.
The court will hold a pre-trial conference on Wednesday or Thursday where it will set out the rules of engagement for the proceedings before the hearing and determination of the suit.
The Judges will give their verdict on September 5, 2022.
If the Judges uphold the election of Ruto, he will be sworn into office on September 13, 2022.
Nullification of the election would send Kenyans back to the polls, which must be conducted within 60 days, with the specific day being November 4, 2022.
The winner of the contest will then be sworn into office on November 22, 2022 unless it is challenged again.
