The finer details on how Raila Odinga plans to rally his supporters to kick out Chief Justice Martha Koome from office in the next three months can finally be revealed. Also on the firing line are the other six Supreme Court of Kenya judges – Philomena Mwilu (Deputy Chief Justice), Smokin Wanjala, Njoki Ndung’u, Isaac Lenaola, William Ouko and Mohammed Ibrahim who unanimously upheld William Ruto’s victory in the August 9 general election.
Raila camp claims Ruto camp had Justice Isaac Lenaola broker the deal with Supreme Court judges and lawyer Ahmednassir Abdullahi had an input in writing the ruling.
Allegations of money exchanging hands is to take centerstage. Further, it is said that at least four judges were against the ruling but Koome pushed for what is termed one side not a divided ruling.
The building bridges initiative ruling is to resurface.
In the plot, Raila will rally more than one million Azimio supporters to camp in Nairobi to demand the judges resign or else they storm in to remove them.
Last week, the ODM leader hinted he would marshal thousands of his supporters to come to Nairobi to demand the removal of the judges.
In the three-action plot, Raila will be seeking to save the Judiciary from what he calls state capture, transform the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to make it ready to hold a credible election and protect the legislature from offering itself to state capture.
The action plan was first brought to the public limelight by Raila’s daughter, Winnie, who argued that stakeholders in the electoral and judicial processes connived to the detriment of her father.
Insiders revealed that the ODM leader has obtained what he calls credible information that he avers links some of the judges to being influenced to rule in favour of Ruto.
The ODM leader also avers that justices Mwilu and Wanjala had dissented but were forced by Koome to back the decision to uphold Ruto’s victory.
But all the judges led by Justice Koome have dismissed any wrongdoing, insisting they dismissed the petition challenging Ruto’s victory for want of evidence.
Sources averred that Raila has been handed CCTV footages showing some lawyers after the closure of the submissions at the Supreme Court could have accessed a top city hotel where the judges had retreated to write the judgment.
But at the said hotel, the judges had switched off their phones to ensure those trying to reach them did not do so and also their rooms were guarded 24 hours, making it impossible for anyone to reach them.
But now Raila, according to sources, claims he has evidence he will release once the Supreme Court releases the detailed judgment which it promised to do after 21 days showing there was more than meets the eye in the ruling. The plot entails his lawyers poking holes on the judgment by showing the massive evidence by petitioners that was ignored by the judges who had a predetermined outcome long before the case started.
This will be followed by a petition Raila’s running mate, Martha Karua, will file at the East African Court of Justice to expose the malpractices that the Supreme Court ignored in its ruling.
While a ruling by the East African Court cannot overturn the one by the Supreme Court of Kenya, the idea is to throw mud on the Kenyan court to force the judges to resign.
The ODM leader’s bid to kick out Koome started last week when he claimed the judgment she read was inspired by the devil. He also accused Koome of defending the judgment even before the final release of the detailed ruling.
Raila claimed the words Koome used while giving the ruling have never been used in court before.
The plot to kick out the judges unfolded when Raila accused Justice Lenaola of threatening Busia senator Okiya Omtatah with ruination over his stand on the court judgment.
The ODM leader was referring to Omtatah’s claims that Lenaola intimidated him on WhatsApp after the verdict of the presidential election appeal.
Insiders revealed that Raila will also call for demonstrations to demand the removal of IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati and two commissioners, Abdi Guliye and Boya Muli.
The three swore affidavit to state Ruto was the winner in the presidential race.
This came as Kenya Kwanza affiliate, Farmers Party submitted to Parliament a petition to have the four IEBC commissioners ousted for allegedly attempting to sabotage the August general election.
According to the party, the petition dated September 9 accuses vice chairperson Juliana Cherera, commissioners Irene Massit, Justus Nyang’aya and Francis Wanderi of gross misconduct and violation of the law.
“Farmers Party has presented to the national assembly, in line with Article 251 of the constitution, a petition for the removal of four commissioners of the IEBC following the attempt by the said commissioners to sabotage an election process as witnessed on 15th August 2022, at Bomas of Kenya,” read the statement.
“The petition by Farmers Party expresses the conduct of the commissioners as being a gross violation of the constitution and a breach of their oath, which denies the four commissioners their legitimacy to hold state offices as commissioners of the IEBC,” the statement adds.
The party through Chege and Sang Company Advocates claims that the quartet’s disagreement with IEBC chairperson Chebukati and later walking out during the announcement of the results on the 15th of August contravenes the law and their role owing to the fact that they hold a public office.
“On 15th August 2022, Cherera, Massit, Nyan’gaya and Wanderi being commissioners to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission in utter breach of their oath of office, walked out of the national tallying centre with a sensational claim that the presidential elections were opaque,” read a section of the petition.
“The mentioned commissioner’s conduct was intended to bring out contempt or disaffection and in fact excited disaffection and tasted aspersion towards the IEBC mandate as established by the constitution of the Republic of Kenya,” the petitioners note.
The fold which is affiliated with president Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza coalition further argues that the aftermath that saw the commissioners participate in the Supreme Court petition to have the elections nullified was a ploy to subvert the will of the people.
“The commissioners proceeded with their treacherous scheme in the Supreme Court and swore affidavits based on falsehoods, a fact which the Supreme Court noted in its decision of 5th September 2022,” stated the petition.
“Commissioners’ conduct, therefore, had the effect of subverting the will of the people and consequently in violation of the express provisions of Articles 1, 2, 73, 74, 138 and 140 of the Constitution.”
This petition follows other Kenya Kwanza coalition members’ submissions to have the four commissioners compelled to step down.
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