NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 30 – The Supreme Court has allowed the affidavits of four dissenting Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners in the petition against President-Elect William Ruto’s victory.
The four Commissioners include – IEBC Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera, Justus Nyangaya, Francis Wanderi, and Irene Masit.
In making the affidavits admissible, the seven-judge bench chaired by Chief Justice Martha Koome noted that a contrary ruling would have made them “suffer
great prejudice as the Court will make adverse findings without hearing the affected Respondents.”
The four Commissioners have disassociated themselves with the presidential results, which the Commission’s Chairperson Wafula Chebukati declared.
The Commission has since been split into two, with Chebukati leading his faction of Commissioners Boya Mulu and Abdi Guliye.
In their affidavits, the Chebukati-led team has alleged that all members of the Commission met with the National Security Advisory Committee (the NSAC), where they were implored to moderate the presidential results.
The Committee chaired by Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua has since dismissed the allegations.
In the meeting, Chebukati revealed that the four dissenting commissioners agreed with the NSAC advisory “to alter the results of the presidential election in favor of one candidate against another.”
Azimio Leader Raila Odinga, who is the principal petitioner in the presidential petition, is seeking to overturn the victory of President-Elect William Ruto.
The Supreme Court was on Tuesday set to hold the pre-trial conference ahead of the hearing of the petition.
