Raila Odinga and Senator James Orengo. [Photo/ Kenyan News]The move by ODM leader Raila Odinga to go to the Supreme Court to challenge the outcome of the general election, which saw him lose by a decisive margin to Jubilee’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, brings back memories of the opposition’s repeated attempts to manipulate the Judiciary for their selfish gains. Raila kept Kenyans waiting for four days, with millions suffering losses as a result of closed businesses and the fear to travel to work. Many expected the ‘big statement’ to be something out of the imagination of Kenyans, but it ended up being a move that should not have been a secret in the first place. What stopped Raila from saying that he was challenging President Kenyatta’s win on Saturday when he visited Kibra and Mathare slums? Why did he have to wait for tens of innocent people to die and property destroyed before informing Kenyans of his plans? In nearly all cases that Raila’s NASA and CORD coalitions have filed in the past five years, Siaya Senator James Orengo has featured as the main lawyer. Until recently, most Kenyans did not know why this was the case, considering that Orengo is not a full-time advocate. Weeks before the elections, it was revealed that the senator was exploiting his relationship with Justice George Odunga — a close relative — to win court cases. The judge was heavily criticised for not disqualifying himself from any cases involving Orengo.
Kenyans will be keen to see if the NASA coalition will use lawyers who have personal connections with the Supreme Court judges to win the petition.
Even before the petition is filed, Raila has started intimidating the Judiciary into ruling in his favor, following the throwing away of his case in 2013 after President Kenyatta's win.“Our decision to go to court constitutes a second chance for the Supreme Court. The Court can use this chance to redeem itself, or, like in 2013, it can compound the problems we face as a country,” Raila said in his statement on Wednesday. It is wrong for the ODM leader, who claims to follow the rule of law, to say that the court is biased when it rules against him. Judges make a decision purely based on the evidence presented and the prevailing realities.
What NASA should be thinking of is gathering evidence that the election was not free and fair, which contradicts the conclusion of all foreign observers, and that President Kenyatta did not actually get the more than 54% of the vote. That is almost an impossible task, considering the high threshold set for calling for another election.