Most Brief Session in Supreme Court History

THURSDAY OCTOBER 26 2017
Kenya Daily Nation
   
 Supreme Court
Chief Justice David Maraga at the Supreme Court on October 25, 2017 during the hearing of an application seeking to stop the repeat presidential election. The court lacked a quorum to proceed with the case. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary
Off the court precincts, security was tight to ensure proceedings went on uninterrupted.
The entrance of Justice Maraga alone sent a clear signal that all was not well.
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By IBRAHIM ORUKO
SAM KIPLAGAT

It was a tense one hour as lawyers and parties waited for the Supreme Court judges to show up for the hearing of a petition filed by three activists that had sought the rescheduling of the repeat presidential election.

Yesterday Chief Justice Justice David Maraga had ordered the court to convene at 10am but it was not until 11.02am that he entered the court room.

Before then, court clerks and Deputy Registrar Daniel ole Keiwua could be seen pacing the court corridors heading to and from the CJ’s chambers.

IEBC STAFF

Mr Keiwua even took a list of lawyers appearing for the various parties, as a sign that all was well.

Meanwhile, lawyers who had not filed their documents in readiness for the hearing took the advantage to file them at the court registry and served their colleagues when they started trickling into the court as early as 9am, for the hearing of the case.

The tension was exacerbated when word filtered through that Justice George Odunga had ruled that the appointment of returning officers and the deputies by IEBC was outside the law.

MARAGA'S LATENESS

This jolted lawyers from all parties who, eager to get full details, sent their juniors to get copies.

The entrance of Justice Maraga alone, accompanied Mr Keiwua, sent a clear signal that all was not well.

It was a kin to a decorated general showing up in the war zone alone, after he had been deserted by his troops.

MWILU BODYGUARD

Attorney-General Githu Muigai introduced all the lawyers in court, then the CJ, who is also the president of the Supreme Court, apologised for being late and expressed regret that the hearing could not proceed as expected.

“Following the events of Tuesday night, which are in the public domain Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu was not in a position to attend court,” he said, referring to the shooting of Ms Mwilu’s bodyguard.

JUBILEE SUPPORTERS

It would be the most brief session of the top court since its inception.

Off the court precincts, security was tight to ensure proceedings went on uninterrupted.

Being a holiday, there was little activity in that part of town, but the serene atmosphere was broken by a group of pro-Jubilee Party demonstrators who entered singing the national anthem and marching through the streets to City Hall, from where they followed the proceedings.

CELEBRATION

They had entered the city styling themselves as patriots who were praying for peace but the moment they heard the case had collapsed, they erupted into singing and ululation in praise of the party and its candidate President Uhuru Kenyatta.

What had been a push for prayers suddenly turned into a forum to praise the ruling party.