NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 31 – Lawyer Paul Nyamodi has told the Supreme Court judges hearing a consolidated presidential petition seeking to nullify the victory handed to President-Elect William Ruto that there is no such position as National Presidential Returning Officer.
Nyamodi, who is representing Youth Advocacy Africa alongside Peter Kirika, faulted the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati for tallying, verifying and declaring the winner in exclusion of four other commissioners.
“I hope that I will be able to persuade you that there is no such position of Presidential Returning Officer. It is a creation of the chairperson of the IEBC and it is created for the purposes of executing a very calculated scheme,” Nyamodi told the seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
The lawyer said the Chairman of the electoral commission has no such powers, and accused him of violating the Elections Act and the Constitution.
“Be that as it may, the chairman is merely enabled to declare. The conduct of the election by dint of Article 138 (2) is by 290 returning officers,” he said.
Nyamodi further argued that the IEBC Chief Executive Officer Hussein Marjan who is not a commissioner was working in cahoots with Chebukati and Commissioner Abdi Guliye to declare their own results while excluding four others who disowned the final results.
Nyamodi was making submissions in a consolidated petition seeking to overturn Ruto’s victory following the August 9, 2022 election.
“Marjan Hussein Marjan is not a commissioner but he is merely the CEO of the commission. These two are appointed to the results management team at the Presidential Tallying center. Their duty is to undertake quality assurance of the results forms received from the presidential returning desk. Tallying and verification, I submit on the admission of IEBC chairman was done by Marjan Hussein Marjan and Abdi Guliye and not the IEBC,” Nyamodi said.
The commissioners include Juliana Cherera (Deputy Chairperson), Francis Wanderi, Justus Nyang’aya Irene Masiit who differed with the chairman Chebukati hours leading to the declaration of the final presidential results on August 15, in which Deputy President William Ruto was declared winner defeating Raila Odinga of Azimio La Umoja.
The four commissioners, however, walked and disowned the results as announced by the Chairman, while saying they were not authentic and verifiable.
The other commissioner is Boya Molu who is on Chebukati’s side together with Guliye and the CEO Marjan.
The Supreme Court is hearing a consolidated petition filed by Odinga and eight others, with a final verdict expected on September 5.
