Judiciary to clear election petitions by end of August

 

The High Court in Nairobi. The head of the Judiciary Working Committee on Election Preparations, Justice Mohammed Ibrahim, said the judges and magistrates were racing against time to listen and give judgments but were ready to meet the August deadline. Photo/File 

By JEREMIAH KIPLANGAT jkiplangat@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, July 29  2013 at  13:43

 

The judiciary has pledged to clear all the petitions arising from the last General Election by the end of next month.

The head of the Judiciary Working Committee on Election Preparations, Justice Mohammed Ibrahim, said the judges and magistrates were racing against time to listen and give judgments but were ready to meet the August deadline.

According to the committee, hearings at least 50 petitions have been concluded, while eight electoral cases were withdrawn and 30 others struck out.

So far, judgments for 10 petitions have been delivered and 13 appeals have been filed in the Court of Appeal plus another six appeals in various High Courts around the country.

He said it would be a big failure if the courts failed to dispense justice as per the constitutional deadline.

“Since the Judiciary has taken great pains to assure the public not only of its ability to be an impartial arbiter in relation to elections, but also of its capacity to do so expeditiously, any failure by the courts to deliver on this promise is viewed as the corporate failure of the Judiciary,” said Justice Ibrahim Monday morning during the opening of a workshop for Court of Appeal Judges at Boma Hotel in Nairobi.

The constitution has given the High Court judges only six months to deal with the cases from the March 4 General Election and the period is set to end next month.

The Election Act allows a further six months for the conclusion of appeals at the Court of Appeal.

However, Justice Ibrahim, also Supreme Court judge, assured the petitioners that their cases would be deliberated and dispense with in the stipulated time.

“The Committee is satisfied with the arrangements put in place for the dispute resolution process, and is confident that the electoral dispute resolution process will end as well as it has begun…we believe that we are on course to deliver electoral justice in the timelines anticipated by the law” said the judge.

Deputy Chief Justice Kalpana Rawal while opening the two-day workshop praised the committee for ensuring that the poll cases were heard in time.

“We are on course to complete all election petitions within the next month, well ahead of deadline. Any appeals from these decisions must also be concluded within six months” said Justice Rawal, who is also the Deputy President of the Supreme Court.