Supreme Court of Kenya in progress. Lawyers allied to President Uhuru Kenyatta and IEBC differed over the removal of NASA coalition from the case. [Photo/nation.co.ke]
Lawyers attached to President Uhuru Kenyatta and electoral body, IEBC, sharply differed at the Supreme Court over the admission of Raila Odinga as a respondent in one of the petition.
According to lawyer Fred Ngatia, standing for Uhuru, Odinga had withdrawn from the race thus not obliged to sign Form 24A before the repeat poll.
“He withdrew from the race thus not obliged to sign the forms. He did not take part in the poll hence his lawyers should not be part of the petition,” he said.
In September, Odinga’s lawyers led by Counsel James Orengo successfully prosecuted a similar case in which Uhuru’s victory was nullified.
But according to IEBC, Odinga should have been part of the case given that he had been enlisted as one of the candidates.
“Odinga did not withdraw from the race and his failure to sign form 24A means his name had to be included on the ballot,” said Waweru Gatonye.
Although Odinga was finally removed from the case, experts argue that the decision will work to the detriment of both Kenyatta and IEBC since the petitioners will question his inclusion.