Supreme Court says it has no jurisdiction to decide Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC’s) legal representation in petition because it’s an internal matter.
Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwila said that the court cannot be drawn to such circumstances.
“The four commissioners are at liberty to deploy and utilize the services of Senior Counsel Paul Muite and Issa Mansour if they deem it necessary,” Mwilu said in a ruling delivered by a seven-judge-bench.
The ruling comes after IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati retained lawyers from the commission to represent it while his deputy Juliana Cherera and three others sought representation from external lawyers to file responses for the same commission.
IEBC Secretariat had filed an interlocutory application seeking to strike the notice of appointment of the two lawyers by the four dissenting commissioners purporting to represent the poll agency.
The commission CEO Marjan Hussein had also filed an affidavit seeking direction on the legal presentation matter.
This comes after a fallout arising from the tallying of the presidential results in the just concluded presidential election.
However, the apex court ruled that it will not be drawn into the divisions in the commission on the legitimate legal representation in the petition.