Thursday, September 1, 2022 –Supreme Judges have asked defense lawyers several pertinent questions seeking clarification following their daylong presentations today.
Chief Justice Martha Koome, while shooting her question to the legal team of Mr. Wafula Chebukati sought to know why the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission IEBC Chairman Mr. Chebukati could not do the honorable thing and alert the public that something was wrong with his commissioners.
“You have seen the IEBC being likened to the Supreme Court much to the channeling of the judges here. What is being asked is that, if there is a judgment and there is a dissenting voice, why didn’t the chairman tell Kenyans exactly what happened?
“Another question that should be answered is why the streaming of the results stopped. Because if Kenyans were following the process from the beginning to the end then, the talk of ‘piki piki ponki’ would not arise,” she stated.
On her part, Justice Njoki Ndungu took issue with the power of Chebukati who had even made his Chief Executive Officer so powerful than the other fully vetted commissioners led by Julian Cherera.
“From the narrative, we are hearing in court, there seems to be an all-powerful chair. What would happen if he was to announce the wrong results, mentally incapacitated, sick or has passed away?
“What is the check for this powerful commissioner if the other commissioners have nothing to do with his role? What is the role of the other commissioners since it seems the chairperson works closely with the CEO who was not vetted by parliament and I don’t think that was the role of the drafters of the constitution,” Justice Ndung’u went on to ask..