KENYA IS WALKING A TIGHT ROPE
Dear Editor,
AS law is not cast on steel, it lives a dynamic life.
So, an unprecedented and good court ruling forms a new case law for posterity, but one that promotes destruction, disobedience and undermining stability is unreasonable.
When I said Kenya is walking a tight rope, I meant just that, in this regard therefore, a peaceful election re-run is one big test ahead for the Kenyans.
But, it must just be, because they had a disputed election just a few years again and their memories are very fresh.
Any form of election malpractice should not be allowed, as any dispute coming from that is a recipe for anarchy and tension.
It also breeds in wrong leadership as they are not the choice of the majority.
An election is a competition for public office which ultimately enables one to wholly manage power in the entire nation.
From what we are getting, the Kenyan elections were not as clean as irregularities and illegalities were observed by the Courts through the petition.
However, no single official has been cited as the lapses seem to be institutional.
The petitioner, put up strong grounds in time, which compelled four of the six sitting Judges to annul the results, he further insists he will only recontest the election if the electoral board officials were sacked.
Meanwhile, the Chief Prosecutor is ordering for the investigation of the petitioner’s lead.
lawyer for illegally accessing the electronic server for the election board.
In the midst of all this, Mr. Kenyatta is pursuing a judicial review seeking a recount of the ballots since, the majority four ruling, did not dispute the number of votes each candidate polled.
In analysing these, one wonders as to who stands a stronger argument here, and why the court ruled as it did.
By now, I believe some Kenyans may even be wishing the Court hit a stalemate of three against three, so that a re-rum should have started with the Court itself.
I say so because, Mr. Odinga has indicated that he will not participate in the re-run should the electoral board remain in office, anyway why should they be sacked anyway, if the irregularities were just institutional which is common the world over, while Odinga’s campaign manager is also under probe of a illegality.
By so doing, is he trying to shield his lead lawyer by a technical withdrawal from the race at the same time escaping another defeat on a re-run because the voting pattern will not change due to the limited time between, the two elections.
And if going unopposed since the re-run is just between the two of them. Should it come to that, were Mr. Kenyatta’s tantrums necessary against the Judges, who administratively are at his “mercy” – as public servants?
By construction, this election re-run is time barred within 60 days from 1st of September, 2017, and cannot be rescheduled to accommodate preliminaries and demands.
And, failure by Mr. Odinga to participate will be a remnant of the mistake UNIP made in 1996 to boycott the general election in Zambia, just because their candidate was then, declared stateless and not eligible for any election in Zambia.
Since then, UNIP has never been the same and as strong. This might be a lesson for them in Kenya, as the two opposing sides have a case against each other thereby, trading a tight rope and coming out of which may require democratic restraint from both sides.
The other thought be that, was the Supreme Court ruling a necessary outcome did they anticipate this scenario.
I only hope, the Court did not seek to please any one with political inclinations, and further hope the situation does not escalate to destruction, disobedience but instead should result in an enhanced political dispensation and stability in Kenya, then HURRAY!!!