Mwau case against rerun presidential poll dismissed hours to election

The High Court has dismissed former Kilome MP Harun Mwau’s petition seeking to stop repeat presidential poll, ruling that it lacks jurisdiction.

Mwau has moved to court to stop October 26 repeat presidential election.  The ex-legislator’s case was that that fresh election as ordered by Supreme Court meant in its September 1 declaration means that it must start afresh from party nominations.

The nominated candidates thereby needed to be gazetted to follow law and the constitution, he averred.

In the petition Mwau submitted that it would be easier for someone to challenge the exercise as illegal and unconstitutional if IEBC conducted the elections without the fresh party nominations.

Mwau’s case was the second to fail to stop Thursday’s repeat presidential poll that is hours away.

On Wednesday Justice Maraga postponed presidential rerun case citing lack of quorum.

The matter filed by three civil society activists in Supreme Court sought to have tomorrow’s rerun presidential election postponed failed to take although it was treated as a matter of urgency.

Postponing the case, Chief Justice David Maraga cited lack of quorum explaining that the Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu was not in a position to sit in court after Tuesday’s shooting of her driver.

Justice Mohammed Ibrahim, he explained, was ill  while Justices  Jackton Ojwang and  Smokin Wanjala were unable to come to the court while Justice Njoki Ndung’u was out of Nairobi and could not get a flight.

The only other available judge was Justice Isaac Lenaola but the two could not form a quorum.

On Tuesday the High Court dismissed two cases touching the repeat poll.

Activist Okiya Omutatah’s that sought to compel IEBC not to hold an election and a caretaker government set up for 60 days to allow the preparation for a new presidential election was thrown out.

Pokot South MP David Pkosing’s to compel Raila Odinga to participate in the rerun presidential poll was dismissed by a court on the grounds that it could not force any Kenyan to participate in an election.

 A stickler to the statutes and an indefatigable defender of his rights, Mwau never hesitates to use the legal path.

In 1992 Mwau filed a petition in the High Court of Kenya against the declaration of President Daniel arap Moi as winner of the presidential race.

His grounds? That the former president and other candidates were not validly nominated because their lists of supporting signatures were not in the prescribed format.

The law required presidential candidates to present the names and signatures of 1,000 supporters in 40 standard sheets of foolscap paper. Mwau’s case was that apart from him, all the other candidates had not used foolscaps measuring 8 by 3 inches but A4 sheets which measure 8.27 × 11.69 inches

Whereas the judges found his ground perfectly legal, they didn’t deem the infraction as serious enough to warrant the reversal of an election.