Uhuru takes Raila to Supreme Court over election

With only six days to the repeat election, the Jubilee Party has moved to the Supreme Court seeking orders to cite NASA Presidential candidate Raila Odinga for contempt of court over his declaration that there will be no election on October 26, 2017.

Jubilee says that Odinga, who withdrew from the repeat election two weeks ago, has failed to comply with the Supreme Court order that directed the electoral commission to hold a fresh election within 60 days.

In an affidavit filed Thursday afternoon by Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju, the party accuses Odinga and NASA of engaging in “illegal, unlawful and disrespectful conduct.”

Tuju states that after the apex court issued orders for a fresh election, the NASA coalition embarked on a “calculated scheme in order to ensure that the fresh election set for 26 October 2017 do not take place.”

The Jubilee head cites the weekly anti-IEBC demos and NASA’s “irreducible minimum” demands as some of the unlawful measures the Odinga-led team has employed to try and block the repeat election.

Jubilee further highlights the recent attacks on IEBC constituency officials in perceived opposition strongholds to justify claims that NASA leaders are out to block the repeat election at all costs.

“Initially, the Petitioners [Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka] had rejected the date of 17 October 2017 for the fresh presidential elections saying that they were not “consulted”. When the date was eventually changed to 26 October 2017, the Petitioners changed tact and now went all out to ensure no elections will take place at all,” Tuju states.

Jubilee further accuses NASA leaders of displaying “arrogance and lack of respect for the rule of law” during a rally on Wednesday, October 18 where they announced they would hold countrywide demos on October 26.

Meanwhile, Kiambu Town MP Jude Njomo has filed an application seeking to compel the electoral commission to hold the fresh presidential election as ordered by the Supreme Court.

The Jubilee lawmaker argues that the withdrawal of NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga is geared towards creating a political and constitutional crisis.

He is also seeking to have Raila Odinga’s withdrawal from next week’s presidential election declared null and void.