Waititu wants the judgment reviewed in light of allegations that Kidero paid Supreme Court Judge Philip Tunoi a Sh200 million bribe to secure a favourable verdict/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 26 – Chief Justice Willy Mutunga will constitute a bench to hear Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu’s application for a review of the Supreme Court judgment which declared Evans Kidero duly elected Governor of Nairobi.
Waititu wants the judgment reviewed in light of allegations that Kidero paid Supreme Court Judge Philip Tunoi a Sh200 million bribe to secure a favourable verdict.
The case was referred to the CJ by Jackton Ojwang of the Supreme Court, despite ruling earlier that the application did not bear legal merit.
He had directed that the application be “returned” to Waititu together with the court fees he paid for it, before the applicant’s vehement objections eventually led him to suspend the directive and refer the matter to the Chief Justice.
Waititu through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui accused Ojwang of overstepping his mandate as he was only intended to make a ruling on whether the application merited an expeditious hearing.
“You’ve only heard our arguments on why this matter should be certified as urgent. You cannot therefore make a ruling on the merits of an application you are yet to hear.”
Kinyanjui also said it was not only “illegal” but “unheard of” for a judge to order a refund of court fees. “Because once paid into the Judiciary account, it goes into the Consolidated fund.”
Ojwang based his finding that Waititu’s application has no merit, on the fact that a court of law is yet to find Tunoi guilty of receiving a bribe from Kidero.
READ: How Kidero bought a judge: Whistleblower’s claim
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