Former Attorney General Githu Muigai claims the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati enjoys executive authority in the execution of his duties.
On Friday, September 2, Mugai told the Supreme Court judges that Chebukati's authority is similar to that of the Chief Justice on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
"It is very similar to the JSC, which in theory is a corporate body, but in day-to-day functioning, the Chief Justice has executive authority and makes decisions over it," he said.
He was responding to a question from Justice Njoki Ndung'u, who was curious about Muigai's personal experience as a draftsman of the original constitution, as well as his intentions for establishing independent commissions.
Mugai is among the legal team representing Chebukati in the petition where he [Chebukati] is appearing as a respondent in a case challenging the contested August 9 presidential election.
President-elect William Ruto garnered 7,176,141 votes (50.49 per cent) against Raila Odinga's 6,942,930 votes (48.85 per cent).
Odinga has since contested the results in court, where he has cited irregularities and allegations of voter bribery in the exercise.
He has accused Chebukati of presiding over a shambolic election.
Following a three-day petition hearing [since Wednesday], the judges are scheduled to retire today (Friday) to prepare for the decision, which is scheduled to be delivered on Monday, May 5.
On Tuesday, the court had a pre-trial conference where all parties confirmed their affidavit submissions.
