Kenya poll petition: Supreme Court settles on IEBC lawyer

The Supreme Court has dismissed responses filed on behalf of the electoral agency by four commissioners led by vice chair Juliana Cherera, delivering an early win for chair Wafula Chebukati. Speaking Tuesday during the second session of the 2022 presidential election petition pretrial conference at the Milimani Law Courts, Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu said the court will take former Attorney-General Prof Githu Muigai, who is representing the Chebukati faction,  to be the lawyer representing the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in the matter.

The Juliana Cherera-led faction had fronted Senior Counsel Paul Muite as the IEBC's lawyer. But in the afternoon, the court delivered a blow to the four commissioners -- Ms Cherera, Ms Irene Masit, Mr Justus Nyang'aya and Mr Francis Wanderi -- while clarifying that they are free to retain the services of Mr Muite and Issa Mansur for the duration of the case.