Ballot tender case to start amid Jubilee criticism

High Court judges George Odunga (left), Joel Njagi (center) and John Mativo on July 7, 2017 give their judgement on the award of printing of presidential ballot papers tender to Al Ghurair. Court of Appeal judges will rule on the same. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • In singling out Justice Odunga, the Jubilee leaders ignored the fact that he was not alone on the High Court Bench.

All eyes will be on five Court of Appeal judges from Friday as they preside over a case that has already provoked President Uhuru Kenyatta to launch unprecedented criticism against the Judiciary.

This follows last week’s High Court ruling stopping the printing of presidential ballot papers by a Dubai firm that angered the Jubilee Party.

The five-judge Bench will be hearing the appeal by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) against the High Court’s nullification of the ballot paper printing tender award to Al-Ghurair Printing and Publishing.

RULING
But it is the criticism by the Jubilee Party, led by President Kenyatta himself, against the Judiciary that lurks over the case and places the five appellate judges in the cross hairs.

Already, the Court of Appeal president, Justice Paul Kariuki, has constituted a five-judge Bench that will be revealed Friday when the court hears IEBC’s application for a stay of the High Court ruling, before the hearing of the main appeal.

BIAS
And if this week’s events are anything to go by, none of the five judges, or indeed the Chief Justice, could be spared from criticism from the ruling coalition in the high-stakes case.

“Where is the independence of the Judiciary when judges who are relatives of those who have cases with us are appointed to preside over the cases?” Deputy President William Ruto asked on Monday in Turkana.

JUBILEE

The Jubilee attacks started at a public rally and were then amplified at a press conference by National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki, Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and Jubilee secretariat boss Raphael Tuju.

“Justice (George) Odunga is related to Senator James Orengo through marriage.

"Sarah Odunga is a niece to James Orengo. Indeed, her younger sibling is known as James Orengo Junior,” Mr Tuju said at the press conference at the Jubilee headquarters.

UHURU KENYATTA
But Mr Orengo, the senator for Siaya, a key adviser of Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga and a prominent lawyer in his own right, dismissed the allegations as “the theatre of the absurd”.

“If it is looking at my relatives in high places, then it cannot be Justice Odunga. It is President Uhuru Kenyatta, whose sister is married to my cousin, a dentist, Dr Owino,” he told journalists.

He was referring to President Kenyatta’s elder sister Jeni Kenyatta, who had a long relationship with a high-profile dentist and former chairman of the Kenya Dental Association, the late Dr George Owino.

TRIBAL

She is also the mother of President Kenyatta’s long-serving personal aide, Mr Jomo Gecaga.

“You cannot be a member of the Bench and play tribal politics,” Mr Duale said, taking a line often pushed by Jubilee social media activists who argue that the judge hails from the same community as Mr Odinga.

In singling out Justice Odunga, the Jubilee leaders ignored the fact that he was not alone on the High Court Bench that made the contentious ruling.

Also on the same Bench were judges Joel Ngugi and John Mativo.