Ekuru Aukot, Mutunga clash over presidential petition filed by Raila
The Third Way Alliance Party leader Ekuru Aukot has termed the petition submitted by the Azimio One Kenya coalition as time-wasting and should be criminalised.
Through his social media, Aukot dismissed the petition that was filed by Raila Odinga criticising the lawsuit as being weak.
“Wasting the time of Kenyans on frivolous lawsuits or petitions should be criminalised,” stated Aukot.
However, in a swift retort, former Chief Justice Emeritus Willy Mutunga reprimanded Aukot for his statement noting that someone who participated in the creation of the Constitution 2010 shouldn’t make such declarations.
Articles 136, 139 (1) (b), and 146 (2) of the 2020 Constitution permit anybody to contest the results of the presidential election or any of its components (b).
“The former Secretary of the Committee of Experts that gave us the 2010 Constitution. What a pity! Greatly misguided. A petition seeks a remedy. How can that be criminalized? Smacks of fascism,” Mutunga stated.
In addition, the former CJ insisted that Aukot explained how submitting a petition constitutes a crime and emphasised that it is up to the court to decide whether or not a petition is absurd.
As the Supreme Court readies to hear the nine petitions filed yesterday challenging the results of the presidential election on August 9, there is a race against time.
During the pre-trial conference, it is likely that the petitions will be combined into a single petition.
