The Farmers Party of Kenya has asked the Supreme Court to allow it to participate as an interested party in the petition challenging President-Elect William Ruto’s win.
The party, which is an affiliate of the Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza Alliance, filed the application yesterday, Thursday, August 25, seeking to be enjoined in the petition filed by Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua.
Through lawyer Chege Kamau, the outfit states that the petition affects farmers of different parts of the country directly and as such, they have a stake in the dispute.
“We will suffer prejudice if not joined as a party in these proceedings. The proposed interested party is a political party which participated in the concluded general elections. Its objective is to safeguard the interest of ordinary farmers and whose membership majorly comprises ordinary farmers and voters,” the lawyer says in the application.
He adds that the party, which is led by Murang’a county gubernatorial polls loser Irungu Nyakera, represents 65 per cent of the ordinary voters who participated in the August 9 presidential election.
Therefore, he contends that their input in the court proceedings is crucial.
“While Mr Odinga, Karua, the electoral commission and its commissioners, Dr Ruto and Rigathi Gachagua will be arguing about disputed figures and alleged manipulation of results, the gist of our case will be to demonstrate how an ordinary farmer and voter exercised his constitutional right to vote,” the lawyer argues.
“We will also demonstrate the ordinary farmer’s perception of the general conduct and process of the elections at the polling station,”
In the court papers, the party indicates that it intends to raise four issues and questions such as whether the ordinary voters perceived the disputed election process to be free, verifiable and transparent.
Secondly, they want to raise the question of whether there is recourse in the event the chairperson of the electoral commission declines to declare results.
The third issue is whether it is a preserve of the commission to deliberate or discuss the election results generated at a polling station.
The fourth issue that the political outfit intends to raise is whether such a discussion interferes with the will and power of an ordinary farmer or voters.
“If the party is not joined in these proceedings the court will lose an opportunity of its kind to decide on the undecided and unpleaded issue of the implication of disputes within the IEBC,” the lawyer states.
“The court will also lose an opportunity to proactively address the plausible event where the Chair of the electoral commission refuses to declare or is hindered from declaring the presidential results which might jeopardize the stability and general security of the country which our founding fathers fought hard to establish,” he adds.
The application is supported by farmers from Murang’a, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisii, Kericho and Kakamega counties.
One of them, Julius Mochama Mumbo, a farmer from Nyamira. In an affidavit, Mumbo states that the voting, tallying and verification process of votes during the just concluded elections were conducted peacefully adding that he never heard or experienced any complaints at his local polling station at Esani primary.
“Leaders from all the other seats in my Ward, Constituency and county commended the IEBC for work well done. I believe that the process was fair, transparent and verifiable and that my vote was duly reflected at the polling station. Some of my preferred candidates were successful and others lost, nonetheless, l was satisfied with the process conducted by the commission,” the affidavit by Mochama reads.
The petition is coming for status conference on Monday where the Supreme Court judges led by Chief Justice Martha Koome will give directions on the application.
