Court Cases ~ Post-Election Kenya

Dear friends,

Since my last post about court challenges to the conduct and outcome of the Kenyan elections, the Supreme Court has begun to deal with the many applications put before it.

Several of the court's decisions have been around who has standing (right to appear in court on the issues) and whether certain applications/petitions were filed on time, etc.

On Monday, March 25, 2013, the Supreme Court ordered a recount of ballots cast at 22 polling stations before it rules on the validity of the recent elections which were held on March 4, 2013. 

“The re-tally shall aim at establishing whether the number of votes cast in each of these 22 polling stations exceeds the number of registered voters,” Justice Smokin Wanjala said at a pretrial hearing today in Nairobi.

The six judge panel of the Supreme Court has until Saturday March 30, 2013, to decide whether the President-Elect, Uhuru Kenyatta should be confirmed as the country's new President, or whether new elections should take place.

In other news, my friend Jonah's brother was injured in a motor bike accident in Kenya. Please keep this family in your prayers as they deal with this and other matters.

Update 2 - Kenyan Elections

I left off in my last post with news of the victorious Jubilee Alliance leaders, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, who were declared winners of the Presidency and Vice-Presidency in the recent Kenyan elections. I also posted about Raila Odinga's plans to contest the election results. The Honourable Odinga was vying for the Presidency and he and his running mate, Kilonzo Musyoka, felt that the election process was ripe with fraud or vote rigging and that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) failed in a number of areas concerning the conduct of the election process.

These children live in a very dry part of Kenya where water is a problem. They are standing at the site of an uncompleted water project.

Kenya's new Constitution provides for the legal contest and indeed this is a vast improvement over civil strife and mayhem that occurred after the last election results were disputed in 2007.  Odinga filed his legal challenge today (Saturday) in the country's Supreme Court in Nairobi.  In filing his claims, the Honourable Odinga made this statement to the press

 “I am not challenging the election outcome because I am determined to be declared president; but I realised that to do otherwise would be a betrayal of the new Constitution and democracy given the malpractices.”

Grounds on which the Honourable Odinga and the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) hope to build their legal challenge:

• IEBC failed to carry out proper and valid voter registration in accordance with Article 83 of the Constitution
• In some constituencies, the number of votes cast exceeded the number of registered voters
• IEBC allowed a mobile phone service provider to co-host both its server and that of the TNA
• IEBC electronic results transmission systems adopted were poorly selected and designed
• IEBC failed to conduct transparent, verifiable and accountable elections

Apparently several other court cases concerning the elections have been filed.  I'm not sure what they are but my guess is that the CORD Coalition court case is the most significant one since it cuts to the heart of the electoral process.  Raila is seeking an invalidation of the entire election and the holding of a fresh poll.  If the Supreme Court invalidates the election, a new election must be held within 60 days.

Despite the fact that the election process is in effect in limbo, I think the Cord case is an important one.  Almost 50% of the electorate voted for Cord.  It is important for the leadership candidates and their team members, and for all Kenyans, to be fully assured of the election process and outcomes so that they can stand behind the elected leadership with certainty that the election was won fairly and squarely.

These children are curious onlookers to a meeting going on with the women of the village. You can see that there is a lot of lush vegetation as this area gets more rain but clean water is still an issue here as it is in many rural parts of Kenya.

Please continue to pray for Kenya and for the six (6) Supreme Court Justices who are entrusted with hearing the petitions and making appropriate rulings.  The outcomes will affect the future generations of Kenya.

This photo is taken in a very dry part of Kenya. These children have grown up in this harsh climate. It would be great if they could have access to a ready supply of refreshing, clean water.  Water, roads, food security, etc. are all important things that generations of Kenyans look forward to and their hopes are pinned upon their elected leaders. Keep them in your prayers.