Nairobi — Lawyer Tom Ojienda now says the August 9 Presidential Election victory does not belong to the two frontrunners Raila Odinga and President-Elect William Ruto, but to the people of Kenya.
Ojienda who represented Busia Senator Elect Okiya Omtata in the Presidential Petition maintained that none of them got the required Constitutional threshold of 50 percent plus one votes hence the election should be nullified.
“This is no longer the bay of Raila Odinga. This is no longer the baby of William Ruto. This is the baby of ‘Wanjiku’. It is the baby of Kenyans, return this baby to Kenyans to determine to whom they will give the baby to after sixty days,” Ojienda said.
While trying to convince the Seven Judge Bench led by Chief Justice Martha Koome to order for a re-run, Ojienda further indicated that election is not all about tallying and verification of votes but also ensuring that the Constitution was followed to the letter.
“In an ideal situation where you would have been called to apply Article 32 on Public Service and Article 201 on Public Finance, you would have ordered for a recount and then secured a winner but this would have been possible if there were no unconstitutional infractions that undermined the process and therefore made it unconstitutional,” he submitted.
In the consolidated petition before the Supreme Court led by that of Raila Odinga, petitioners are seeking to overturn President Elect William Ruto’s victory.
In his prayers, Odinga asked the court to nullify the August 9 presidential election results, accusing the Commission of rigging him out in favour of Ruto.
Odinga further submitted that Ruto had failed to attain the 50 percent plus one vote required by law, allegations the commission dismissed.
IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati, on August 15, 2022, declared Ruto the President-Elect after garnering 7,176,141 (50.49 percent) votes against Odinga, who got 6,942,930 votes (48.85 percent).
The court will issue a verdict Monday.