On September 1, 2022, IEBC lead attorney Githu Muigai appeared before the Supreme Court of Kenya during a presidential petition. Samson Standard Wire
Githu Muigai, the chief attorney for the IEBC, told the Supreme Court on Thursday that there are signs that the four breakaway commissioners were compromised in order to taint the announcement of the presidential election results.
Muigai contended that the vice-chairperson Juliana Cherera, Irene Masit, Francis Wanderi, and Justus Nyang’aya of the commissions were swayed by outside influences to guarantee that the presidential election was called off early.
He claimed that this was done after William Ruto’s lead in the State House contest became apparent to Raila Odinga’s campaign.
Muigai claimed in his own words that the commissioners’ choice to “bolt out at the last minute was an afterthought.”
So, the four commissioners’ sanctimonious, self-righteous, pretentious pontification should be considered as an afterthought, he said.
On August 15, IEBC commissioners Cherera, Wanderi, Nyang’aya, and Masit stormed out of the national tallying center at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi, claiming that Wafula Chebukati, the chairperson, had barred them from participating in the tallying and verification process, particularly as the exercise neared its conclusion.
Chebukati was accused of processing the outcomes in a “opaque nature” unilaterally.
They claimed they were unable to “accept ownership of the outcomes that the chairwoman was about to declare” as a result.
After then, Chebukati went on to name William Ruto of the UDA Party the president-elect with 7.18 million (50.49%) of the votes, ahead of Azimio la.umoja 6.9million
The outcome has since led to legal battles, with Odinga named as the major entrant.
Judge Isaac Lenaola of the Supreme Court questioned on Wednesday, August 31, why the commissioners had left so quickly when they had earlier been heard “reading out results on national television.”
This question will likely be addressed by the commissioners’ attorneys on Friday, September 2 during the rejoinder session.
‘Generalities’
Githu Muigai, the lead attorney, claimed that Raila Odinga’s legal team concentrated on generalizations rather than presenting evidence of electoral fraud by the commission and its chairperson.
In his case, Odinga informed the judges that the ballots on Form 34a had been manipulated to favor Ruto and that the IEBC results transmission mechanism had been compromised, causing the results to be tampered with.
The petitioner further claimed that Ruto’s total was increased by excluding his votes from counties like Bomet and Kiambu, which were considered to be his strongholds.
Attorney Githu Muigai for the IEBC disagreed.
“This petition is chock-full of broad strokes, hints, and speculation. There was no proof of electoral fraud and nothing that could be used as evidence. This petition is unjustified,” he declared.
Muigai claimed that while Odinga’s attorneys, including Senior Counsel James Orengo, made significant claims against the IEBC, they were unable to distinguish fact from fabrication.
“The petitions contain serious charges of a criminal character, including fraud, tampering with election materials and results, conspiracy to illegally influence an election decision, and even implied treason… all of that, without a shred of evidence,”
Nothing is wrong with [the] IEBC or [Wafula] Chebukati, but there is something seriously wrong with how those involved in the electoral process accept winning or losing “said Muigai.
“The vilification of this gentleman (Chebukati) goes beyond anything we have ever heard before in this court house; it was personalised, it was vengeful, it was aimed to undermine his reputation in our community and within the legal profession, it was unnecessary,” he said.
“When everything is said and done, I have no doubt that a group of individuals who are not affiliated with him would recognize Chebukati as a remarkable hero after reviewing the job he has done for our country.
Three governors, four senators, and four members of parliament have all been chosen as of today as we sit here in court. I beg the court to inquire of them, “Are they satisfied with their own election?” If that’s the case, how can it be that this election was fundamentally flawed?
“This court would have to decide that every MCA, MP, senator, and governor was not legitimately elected and the entire government should be replaced if this election was so seriously flawed,” continued Muigai.
The IEBC attorney closed his argument by stating that the election was legitimate and that if the courts decided to proclaim it to be so, it would have a significant impact.
