Two enjoined in IIEC poll date case

By Wahome Thuku

Kilome MP Harun Mwau has formally been admitted as an interested party in a case filed at the Supreme Court seeking advisory on the next election date.

Also admitted was Nairobi lawyer-cum-politician Mugambi Imanyara.

The two were enjoined in the case filed by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) requesting the court to give an opinion on whether the General Election should be held in August or December next year.

Legal scholar Yash Pal Ghai was enjoined as a friend of the court. Prof Ghai, the former Constitutional of Kenya Review Commission chairman, now runs Katiba Institute, an organisation that checks on the implementation of the Constitution.

The court, however, rejected a similar application by the Kenya Institute of Governance, an NGO, but advised them to apply to be enjoined as friends of the court.

Omtatah

An application by political activist Okoiti Omtatah was also rejected.

The court said he had not demonstrated that any right had been violated as required under rule 23 of the Supreme Court rules.

Mwau and Imanyara had filed a petition at the High Court seeking a declaration on when the next elections should be held, but the court had advised them to wait for the outcome of similar proceedings at the Supreme Court.

Two advisories before the Supreme Court have been lodged by the Commission for Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) and IIEC.

The two are the first matters to go before the court, which was officially inaugurated on Wednesday.

The CIC case was heard on Wednesday by judges Mohammed Ibrahim and Smokin Wanjala while judges JB Ojwang’ and Njoki Ndung’u heard issues in the second case on Thursday.

The two benches ruled that the cases would be heard separately.

The case by IIEC will go before a five-judge bench to determine whether the Supreme Court has authority to give the advisory.

Some lawyers argue that under Article 163(6) of the Constitution, the Supreme Court can only be requested to give opinion on matters concerning county governments.

Authority

In the ruling read by Lady Justice Ndung’u, the court said the question of the court’s legal authority to give opinion on the election date would be raised before a full bench.

The case will be mentioned next Thursday when the hearing would be set.

The lawyers were told they would be free to file additional papers.

A ruling in the CIC case will be delivered on November 2.

Though the Supreme Court has seven judges including the Chief Justice and his deputy, the Constitution provides that five of them can constitute a bench to hear a substantive matter to conclusion.