Professor Githu Muigai representing Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has said the presidential election was conducted strictly in compliance with the courts’ guidelines.
Speaking today before the Supreme Court judges during the ongoing hearing of the presidential petition, Prof. Muigai said the petition before the court has nothing to do with any legal lacuna but has everything to do with numbers.
He demonstrated that IEBC conducted a free, fair, verifiable and transparent election that adhered to the constitution.
“The IEBC and its Chairman conducted the fairest election ever, it was transparent but I submit it was not perfect, “said Muigai.
He insisted that there is nothing wrong with the IEBC Chairman, Wafula Chebukati that calls for his removal in the body, arguing that there is everything wrong with the way people participate in the electoral process and that politicians should accept there is winning and losing in any election.
Muigai accused the petitioners for attacking Chebukati for being open, terming the attack as being personalised, with intention to lower his standing and the community whom exercised their legal right.
He urged the court to dismiss the case, saying it lacked merit and that it was below required standards of presidential petition.
“Integrity is not numbers, to do the right thing does not require you to have the majority but your conscience,” said Muigai.
Eric Gumbo defending the presidential election maintained that nobody interfered with the technology as claimed by the petitioners, adding that the form 34A has security features that no one can forge.
He dismissed claims submitted by the petitioner that there was hacking and that somebody intercepted the system, uploaded the form, altered then send it to the National Tallying Centre.
“At what time did this happen and who is this middle man who intercepted the system. There was nothing as such. No form is presented in this court to show that the numbers were interfered with,” said Gumbo.
Representing IEBC also Mahas Omar, gave seven evidences informing the court that no vote that was deducted from the petitioner, and added to President elect William Ruto arguing that the petitioners were wrong on the data and the numbers.
“I want to inform the court that no one can upload form 34A transmitted from the polling station” said Omar dismissing the submission that form 34C kept on changing.
He urged the court to make a determination that the petitioners’ numbers did not relate and that the documents served to the court by the petitioners were forged.
Other lawyers who presented IEBC in the petition are Kamau Karori, Abdikadir Mohammed who stated that the petition is not worth of overturning the presidential election.
By Catherine Muindi
