Legal drama ensued in court as petitioners and respondents scored points following evidence presented to the Supreme Court by Azimio One Kenya alliance on a purported Form 34A interception by a Venezuelan hired by the electoral agency.
On the final day of the presidential petition hearing, Raila Odinga’s legal representatives presented evidence to show that a Venezuelan was posting Forms 34A on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) public portal in a live demonstration.
The Supreme Court rejected Azimio counsel’s request for an objection to a reply by the respondents (IEBC) on the grounds that it constituted new evidence.
IEBC lawyer Somat Somane asserted that in matter of facts, they had already submitted to the court the documents containing the name of Jose Camargo as part of their affidavits.
“The document relating to Jose Camargo has come from the QR register which is distributed to every polling station, and that document is already in the possession of this court. If you look at the scrutiny report and the QR register, you will actually find the name of Camargo on the register that has been printed. So, what happened? A PO took an original Form 34A, he had the QR register and he took a picture of it,” he stated.
The assertions made by Odinga’s attorneys Paul Mwangi and Julie Soweto that Camargo interfered with the results were false and blatantly deceptive, according to the Commission’s lawyers Githu Muigai and Somane.
However, Odinga’s legal team, led by James Orengo, objected the argument on the grounds that it was a misreading of the evidence produced in court by Soweto, Azimio’s legal representative.
“My Lords, you can see we are not making up the hacking story, you can see for yourselves and we are saying this is the person who determined the final outcome of the presidential election,” Soweto said of the form from Kangema’s Muguru polling station.
“I think he (Somane) should transform himself to a witness and we begin to cross-examine him. Either we practise the law the way we understand the law, or anybody can confront the court with any document at any time. It is very dangerous territory, and unless clarity is given on this matter, it is going to be very difficult to operate, Orengo said.”
Odinga’s attorney Paul Mwangi claimed that Camargo was one of three Venezuelans detained by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), on suspicion of plotting to meddle in the election.
“We think that these are the prints of one of the suspects in the election theft, said Mwangi.”
Soweto questioned how the Venezuelan was able to upload forms on the public web during the live demonstration in court.
“If the foreigners fled and didn’t access the server as claimed, why is Jose Camargo’s name showing up on a form on the IEBC portal? Soweto asked.