Despite the clarity of what they need to do, IEBC are going to defy the law and carry out a sham election. If there is something predictable about the Kenyan, it's his addiction to lawlessness. They will be quoting Njoki as they go about it. Hopefully the other actors have taken something away from this ruling that they can use in lower courts to force change in IEBC.
I think they are hoping that by the time of elections, they would have put the 4 justices in a bad spot with threats, intimidation, sham investigations etc and they wont be in a position to participate the petition.
Yep.
That's it. And it's not just Kenya, by the way; much of The Beloved Continent seems to have the same difficulty. Contrary to popular myth, it's not bad luck, or bad weather, of fickle gods ... that explains our woes.
On the matter at hand: some of the commentaries here are bizarre. I can't tell whether it's because the writers don't really understand what the SC case was really all about, or whether they are simply into misguided mischief, or ... Whatever mission they are on, I know better than to try and point out facts and reality ... What I have to say can be summarized in one sentence: if the process is so f**ked up that one can't make sense of the numbers, then, for all practical purposes, the elections were not valid.
Moving along ...
I have been truly astonished by the mindless attacks on the judiciary, started and led by Uhuru, who should be at the forefront of urging respect for the judiciary, even when they rule against him, and then taken by by everyone keen to suck his <redacted>: Once Uhuru blew the horn, all sorts of scurrilous types emerged from the woodwork, all trying to outdo each other in sucking up to the Uhuru and Ruto ... complete with all sorts of nonsensical applications, affidavits and what not ... badly done crap (forgeries included) that, surprisingly, seems to as "truth until proven otherwise".
Let me go back and replace the "astonished" above with "truly horrified". If that seems excessive, my explanation is as follows. Countries that find themselves in dire straits don't just suddenly wake up one day and find themselves there. If one looks carefully at the history, one will find that one of the chief reasons is a "small-small" erosion of
real respect for the law, and it is sometimes worthwhile to reflect on why people have in the first place developed legal systems. In Kenya, we continuously had small-small "erosion" under Johnstone Kamau, subsequently accelerated by Daniel Arap Moi. We know how that turned out. Even the 2007-2008 PEV was not a "sudden eruption", if one considers what had preceded it.
The wild attacks on the judiciary reflect a serious failure to think on a long-term basis. Low-level,
manamba types may be excused for not being able to think, but there are quite a few others who should know better.
Regardless of who "wins" in the October elections, I see Kenya entering a period of "New Lawlessness" that, depending on who is declared president, will involve one of: (a) the legislature against what is good for the country, or (b) the legislature and the executive against what is good for the country. In either case, there are just three things to watch out for: sucking-up, power and
eating. On the present path, it's guaranteed to end in tears for most Kenyans; the only issue will be how long it takes. History.
I have mostly been an "active" contributor to
nipate.org, but probably won't be anymore---except on things like the music thread and athletics. Contrary to what I previously thought, all other discussions (politics, law, economics, ...) are good for entertainment and not much else---certainly not the hoped-for goal of having a better understanding of how we can improve things in Kenya. The sheer stupidity, venality, mindless tribal hatred, ... that are currently on display all over the country (and partially reflected here) have shaken me out of my reverie.
Chief Justice Maraga: A genuine and 100% surprise. Expected by many to be a toe-the-line sucker-up---and I was among those who mocked his return to the "bird's nest", as a symbol of retrograde thinking----he has proved "wrong" many of those who were on either side of his appointment. One hopes that his refusal to be cowed or bought will inspire the lower legions.