And The Cookie Crumbles! Supreme Court Nullifies Presidential Election

Chief Justice of The Republic of  Kenya. David Kenani Maraga. PHOTO|COURTESY

Just when we thought it was all done and dusted, a SHOCKER came. In a majority ruling of 4 against 2, the Supreme Court of Kenya has today nullified the presidential election of Kenya. This means that President Uhuru Kenyatta was not validly elected in the just concluded elections.

In a historic judgment and the very first in Africa, the Supreme Court of Kenya invalidated the re-election of a sitting president, ordering a new vote to be held within 60 days after finding out that the electoral body had presided over irregular elections.

The election on Aug. 8 was conducted peacefully and was largely praised by international observers. But David Maraga, the court’s chief justice, declared the result “invalid, null and void” after siding with the opposition, which had argued that the vote had been electronically manipulated to assure a victory for President Uhuru Kenyatta. They then directed IEBC to conduct fresh elections in 60 days.

The decision surprised even Mr. Odinga and his supporters, who immediately went to the streets to celebrate. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ICT manager was killed about a week before the election, and although the casting of ballots went smoothly, electronic transmission was flawed, leading the opposition to assert that as many as seven million votes had been stolen.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga greeting his supporters after the ruling. PHOTO|AP

Immediately after the opposition went to the court, several scenarios were possible and the nullification of the election was one of them.

In the reading of the ruling by the chief justice, the two dissenting judges, Lady Justice Njoki Ndung'u and Justice Jackton Ojwang gave their reasons for giving a contrary opinion.

Walter Mebane, who is a professor of statistics and political science at the University of Michigan and studies elections worldwide, volunteered to run the voting results through a computer model. The model he developed is to detect electoral fraud. Based on statistics only, and without knowledge of the intricacies of Kenyan politics, he and his team found patterns that showed widespread manipulation.

“It was unlike any data set I had ever seen,” he said. “Every single indicator came up signaling anomalies. It’s a huge red flag that something weird is going on.”

Former Bungoma Governor, 'Wheelbarrows' His Way To Senate Speaker

Former Bungoma Governor, Ken Lusaka. PHOTO|COURTESY

In what many analysts call a reward for his efforts, Mr. Ken Lusaka was today elected as the Speaker of the Senate in Kenya. He lost to his rival, Wycliffe Wangamati in the just concluded elections. Many will remember him for the wheelbarrow scandal in Bungoma County that left tongues wagging after a reported Sh.1.09 million. He said they were 'non-carcinogenic'.

After rallying calls by President Kenyatta yesterday, the former Governor has been elected the second Senate speaker in a vote that went to Round Two.

Mr. Lusaka, with the backing of Jubilee Party senators, the majority in the House, got 42 votes out of the 67 that were cast.

Former National Assembly Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim came second with 25 votes.

The vote went into the second round after none of the six candidates garnered the mandatory two-thirds of the total vote, 45 out of 67, required to be declared the winner. In the first round, Mr Lusaka garnered 40 votes as Mr Maalim managed 23.

The Head of State had been clear at the Jubilee Party Parliamentary Group Meeting on Wednesday at State House, Nairobi that the two are the party’s favourites.

"I will seek to ensure that the relationship between the Senate and the county governments is improved. We want to put the issues we have behind us,” he said after the election.

Word already went round that his election will ruin the relationship with Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula, who was especially critical of his term in office as governor.

Bungoma residents inspecting a wheelbarrow that cos Sh 109,000. PHOTO|THE STAR

During the incident in 2015, Mr Lusaka was questioned for hours over inflated prices for wheelbarrows bought by the county government in 2014.

Reports of the purchase of the 10 wheelbarrows at Sh109,000 each sparked protests. They were bought by the county’s department of Agriculture for a slaughterhouse.

Mr. Lusaka declined to discuss details of his engagement with the detectives when he left the interrogation room at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) headquarters in Nairobi during the time.He was also questioned on other procurement issues.

Judgement Day Nears. Possible Scenarios For Presidential Petition Ruling

The Supreme Court of Kenya. PHOTO|FILE

This is the second presidential petition under the new 2010 Constitution. The verdict of the Supreme Court of Kenya will be to either uphold President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election or invalidate the outcome and lead the country to prepare for another election in 60 days.

Although the opposition coalition, NASA first said they would not go to court to challenge the results of the 2017 General Elections, their stand changed after consultations.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga argued that the presidential election was rigged and presented his case to the court, challenging the electoral body's (IEBC) declaration of President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election with 54% of the vote.

After sporadic violence in areas that are Mr. Odinga' strongholds after the declaration, the country resumed to an uneasy calm after their decision to go to court. Addressing the press, Mr. Odinga said that they were going to prove their case to the court and that the election results would be overturned.

On Tuesday, 29 August the court received reports from its own registrar and a team of court appointed experts who assessed allegations of malpractice and rigging.

In his final submission James Orengo, a NASA official and lawyer said the reports told "a very, very sad story" of irregularities, pointing to a number of unsigned tally forms and others lacking security features, that he said could affect as many as five million votes.

In his final submission Paul Muite, an IEBC lawyer said that the petitioner had not presented a single case where "figures were altered." He added that there is no law that specifies the forms for tallying presidential ballots must have security features.

Fred Ngatia, one of the attorneys for President Kenyatta, urged the court to dismiss the challenge, saying there was no difference in the votes announced at the tallying center with those from the polling stations. He said that showed Kenyatta's win was legitimate, he said.

As the nation waits with bated breath, here are the possible scenarios that will unfold;

Scenario 1: Supreme Court Dismisses the Petition, Upholds and Validates the Elections
a. Jubilations by the Jubilee side particularly in its strongholds, including Nairobi.
b. Street demonstrations/civil unrests especially in Nasa strongholds in protest of the Supreme Court decision.


Scenario 2: Supreme Court Annuls/Invalidates the Elections
a. Jubilations predominantly in the Nasa Coalition strongholds, including Nairobi.
b. Street demonstrations/civil disorders especially in Jubilee strongholds in protest of the Supreme Court decision.

It is to be noted that Scenario 2 will lead to a repeat of the Presidential elections and subject the country back to the polls.
The judges can also order for a  re-tallying of the results.

The decision to invalidate elections, legal experts warn, will spark off a Pandora’s box of petitions of other elective positions. If the petition is sustained, there is a possibility that any other petition that would be filed would rely on the decision of the Supreme Court and if the facts would be the same, irregularities the same then very many petitions will succeed.

Uhuru Kenyatta would have been sworn in on August 29 – exactly the first Tuesday after the expiry of the 14th day after the declaration – had there been no election petition.

If the Supreme Court upholds his win, this would now pushes the inauguration party earliest on September 12. The maximum deadline to dispense the petition allowed by the law falls on September 1. The law gives another seven days for the swearing-in, which falls on September 8.

The ceremony will however be held on September 12, being the first Tuesday after the expiry of the seventh day.

If on September 1, the judges nullify the Presidential results, then the IEBC will have 60 days to organize for another presidential election and this will see the country going to the polls to elect the President on November 1.

God Saves Cecily Mbarire From Wambora As Jubilee Nominates Her To Parliament

Embu Governor, Martin Wambora(left) and Former Runyenjes MP, Cecily Mbarire( right). PHOTO|NMG

After a heavy defeat to incumbent Embu governor, Martin Wambora in the Jubilee Party Primaries, many thought she had lost it all. She is clearly on her seventh out of nine lives after she was nominated to parliament by her party.

Martin Wambora won with a landslide victory in the Jubilee Party nominations after taking a commanding lead over his political rival Cecily Mbarire. He garnered 60,549 votes, against Mbarire's 41,987.

He later came to win the seat in the General elections in August.

Mbarire suffered a blow after losing in all polling stations on her home turf in Runyenjes.

In Gakundu polling station, Mbarire got 97 votes while Wambora won with 377. In Kangondi, Mbarire got 11 votes against Wambora's 113.

In a  survey released by Trends and Insights for Africa in March 2017, Wambora was the most preferred governor candidate with 48 per cent.

Cecily Mbarire. PHOTO|THE STAR

In a gazetted notice dated 25th August 2017, Cecily Mbarire was among the candidates nominated by Jubilee Party to serve in the 12th Parliament. Her nomination was tagged as 'Special Interest' category.
She was listed alongside David Ole Sankok, Halima Yussuf, Gideon Keter, Jeniffer Shamalla and Maina Kamanda.

Albino MP Who Chopped Off His Own Ear To Become MP is Nominated In Senate

Ruiru Jubilee party MP aspirant Hon Isaac Mwaura. PHOTO|COURTESY

It was a BLOODY battle in all senses. During the Jubilee Party nominations for Ruiru MP, aspirant Isaac Mwaura was injured during a confrontation with youth who were allegedly allied to his opponent Simon Kang’ara at Kiuu in Githurai. 
After conceding defeat, his loyalty has paid off with a nomination for the Senate.

Mwaura garnered 4,632 votes, losing to his opponent Simon King'ara who garnered 10,900 votes in the nomination polls.

His decision to run was marred with controversy because he had earlier ditched the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.

"We did our best and we live to fight for another day. We have ran the race, we have kept the faith. Victory belongs to the Lord," Mwaura said on his Facebook page.

"This in itself has had its own challenges. It is never easy but someone had to do it. Someone had to be the first to pay the price and create a pathway of possibilities," he said.

"I wish him well in serving the people of Ruiru and wish to assure him of my full support in exercising his mandate, for leadership almost invariably, has capacity to transform society," he said.

He claimed he had spent over Sh 20 million in  things he had been donating and programmes he had been running.

He is now nominated by the Jubilee Party to represent people with disabilities in the Senate alongside Getrude Inimah from ODM.

Shebesh Feels The Heat Of Defeat As Millicent Omanga Becomes Senator

Millicent Omanga. PHOTO|ANDREW KILONZI

She was quick to concede defeat to Esther Passaris after the 2017 General Election for Nairobi County Women Representative. Months earlier she had won the Jubilee party nomination ticket even after rival Millicent Omanga complained that the nominations were not fair.

After party negotiations, it was agreed that Ms. Shebesh would represent Jubilee and defend her seat. Perhaps the deal was for her to retain her seat and the jilted Ms. Omanga would be appeased by a nomination for the Senate.

However, according to a list submitted by Jubilee Party, Ms. Millicent Omanga is one of the nominated candidates for the Senate. Others include Beth Mugo, Milgo Chepkorir, Christine Gona, Mary Senata, Falhada Iman, Naomi Wago and Farhiya Haji.

Ms. Shebesh now feels the heat of defeat after her former rival who even lost her appeal through the Jubilee Party tribunal has the last laugh.

Ms. Omanga came into the public circles when a photo of her, holding wads of cash, surfaced online amid uproar from the public. In an interview on national television, she later claimed that the money belonged to a client.

Rachel Shebesh. PHOTO|COURTESY

NASA With A Win In The First Round. Should They Celebrate?

NASA principals arrive at the Supreme Court of Kenya earlier this morning. |COLLINS KWEYU

The Supreme Court Of Kenya has today granted the National Super Alliance (Nasa) coalition restricted access to selected IEBC data and devices that were used to conduct the August 8 General Election.

The seven judges of the court ruled that they had granted orders of access to the petitioner because once they understand how the systems work, the court will come to a fair decision.

Prior to the petition hearing, Nasa had repeatedly asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to give them access to their servers if they had nothing to hide.

Today's 'win' comes after the court agreed to admit as evidence, several documents that were filed past the constitutional deadline.

Further, in today's session, Nasa's lawyer, Dr. Otiende Amollo, who is also the MP-elect for Rarieda constituency, had his time when he made his submission.

He presented a graph, complete with a formula that they believe was used to calculate the election results in favor of the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta.

According to their IT expert, it was possible to predict the result of the election from the start to the end.

The equation Nasa say was used to predict the election result. |CITIZEN TV

At the moment, Nasa coalition is doing well and they hope to maintain the same trend. It will be interesting to see the response that the respondents will have.

While supporters may be excited about it, this is just but the beginning and all signs show a bruising court battle ahead.

Each side hopes to convince the Supreme Court bench, without a reasonable doubt, that they should rule in their favor.

Claws Out. NEMA Begins To Enforce Plastic Ban

A woman checking plastic bags at a dump site.|GETTY IMAGES

After years of false starts, the ban on the use, manufacture, and sale of plastic bags comes to force in Kenya. After the announcement, Kenyans were shocked that after today, anyone found with the polythene bags could face heavy fines of up to Sh. 4 million or prison sentences of up to four years.

By yesterday, August 27, a spot check established that major supermarkets such as Tuskys, Naivas, Eastmatt, Best Lady shops and retail shops in Nairobi were still packaging shopping for their customers in plastic bags.

Citizens who were interviewed threw blame on the Kenyan government for failing to conduct civic education and failing to provide the alternative biodegradable bags soon after the ban was gazetted.

This is the third attempt in the past 10 years to ban plastic bags in Kenya.

Environment CS Judi Wakhungu through a February 27 Gazette notice banned the use, manufacture and importation of all plastic bags for commercial and household packaging.

Manufacturers were given six months to clear their stock.

Manufacturers of the bags said that this will be horrible for business and worse still, over 50,000 Kenyans would use their jobs.

Earlier today, workers at a plastic manufacturer in Nairobi woke up to a rude shock when they found a poster on the company's gate that turned away all laborers till further notice. 

Read the notice below;

Here is another notice-

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) in a statement said that only manufacturers with clearance will be legally allowed to continue with their business. The National Environment Management Authority today flags off its inspectors and environment police to inspect whether manufacturers have complied with the plastic bag ban.

In certain quarters, this is now being referred to as the world's toughest law against plastic bags.