Senior Counsel Fred Ngatia states that the orders sought in Raila Odinga’s petition, apart from being contradictory, will take this country into a constitutional crisis.
Ngatia criticised Odinga for already insinuating that he will not participate in a fresh election should the court nullify the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announcement of William Ruto as president-elect. The incumbent in office cannot even appoint anybody to office.
“Since the petitioner will not participate in a fresh election, and does not want to accept defeat, then what solution does he offer? Raila does not want to accept defeat or participate in a re- run done by Chebukati, the solution he offers that Cherera run IEBC would plunge Kenya into crisis,” he said.
On the allegations of manipulation of forms 34A, Ngatia asked Raila to provide evidence of forms 34A in the IEBC public portal differing from the hard copy at the polling station or to show a ballot box that people from outer space stuffed votes into that was not procedural.
“If it is true that Raila’s votes were altered and added to Ruto’s votes show us one form 34A in the public portal which differs with the hard copy in the polling station,” Ngatia alluded.
He said that all the consolidated petitions at the court arise from a political presidential election contest which should ideally be resolved by the electorate or the Kenyan voters and not by a court of law.
Ngatia insisted that as Kenyans we are unable to inculcate amongst ourselves the culture of accepting electoral results claiming that the case is based on “certain pranks.”
Ngatia lamented that it is the first time in the history of this country to have 8 petitions submitted before the court of law which he believes to being a new plot to disable the president-elect to mount a defense against 8 petitions within 4 days.
“When we argued that Raila 1 in 2013, this apex court said a petition under Article 140 should be, precise, concise and well-focused. It cannot be a meandering never ending saga,” he said.
Ngatia complained that it was undesirable and difficult with all the affidavits at the court for petitioners to structure fiction and peddle it as pleadings.