IEBC has lost legitimacy and credibility to conduct election

The chickens have come home to roost for the IEBC and the Jubilee regime. In a historic landmark opinion, the Supreme Court of Kenya did what no other court has ever done in the history of the republic – it nullified a presidential election. We should let that statement sink in for a moment. Chief Justice David Maraga and three of his colleagues delivered a jurist’s devastating blow to electoral authoritarianism in Kenya. The Maraga Court – as it will now forever be known – did what the Mutunga Court didn’t – allow the evidence to speak for itself. In the stroke of a pen, the Maraga Court has done what’s never been done anywhere in Africa – declare a presidential election victory null and void.

Let’s ponder the meaning – and impact – of the Supreme Court’s ruling. First, the court’s ruling restores a measure of faith in the rule of law in Kenya. It’s a humongous victory for the 2010 Constitution and Kenya’s Judiciary. But it’s an even bigger victory for the Supreme Court which had lost its legitimacy and credibility after upholding the highly disputed 2013 presidential poll. It’s an open secret that the Jubilee regime attempted to pack the Judicial Service Commission in advance of the election. That gambit has backfired spectacularly. The Maraga Court has re-established the supremacy of the Constitution and its own independence from an imperial Executive. As Martin Luther Jr said, the arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.