Two petitions detailing why members of the National Security Advisory Committee (NSAC) visited the National Tallying Centre at Bomas on the day the presidential election results were to be announced have been admitted in the Supreme Court.
The petitions filed by Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua and Principal Administrative Secretary Office of President Kennedy Kihara were admitted on Tuesday, August 30, ahead of the pre-trial hearing of the eight petitions challenging Kenya Kwanza Alliance leader William Ruto’s victory.
Supreme Court says applications properly filed
While allowing the affidavits, the seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice Martha Koome, said the applications were properly filed.
“The application filed seeking this Court to admit the attached Replying Affidavits of Dr. Joseph K. Kinyua and Dr. Kennedy Kihara as properly filed is hereby allowed. The Replying Affidavits of Kinyua and Kihara are hereby admitted as properly filed,” the judges ruled.
Kinyua and Kihara filed the applications after Wafula Chebukati, the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), filed an affidavit in court claiming that the members of NSAC approached him and the commissioners to declare Azimio leader Raila Odinga the winner of the August 9 presidential poll.
In a detailed affidavit, Kinyua said the allegations by Chebukati have no legal basis.
“l, therefore, categorically deny Chebukati’s insinuation that l arranged a meeting between him and the members of the NSAC with a view to influencing the outcome of the presidential election held on August 9, 2022, in favour of a particular candidate,” Kinyua said.
He said that the meeting with the commission was at Bomas of Kenya the venue at which many members of the public were present together with various political parties, and candidates’ agents.
Kinyua claims that the meeting between Chebukati, IEBC Commissioners, and the NSAC members namely Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, Kihara, Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto, and Vice-Chief of Defense forces Lieutenant General Frederick Ogolla on August 15, 2022, was occasioned by the delayed announcement of the results of the presidential election.
He added that the NSAC move to have the meeting was aimed at averting a scenario where anxiety could creep in and then ugly upheavals erupt following the delay.
