Things fall apart: Disbelief as Ruto’s allied laywer drops another stunning shocker ahead of Supreme court verdict

Things fall apart: Disbelief as Ruto’s allied laywer drops another stunning shocker ahead of Supreme court verdict

On Monday, August 22, Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party captain Raila Odinga filed a presidential petition against President-elect William Ruto at the Supreme Court.

In the 72-page petition, the former Prime Minister wants the Supreme Court to declare him the fifth President-elect.

Raila argues that he was illegally denied his rightful win in the presidential election held on Tuesday, August 9, across the country.

President Uhuru Kenyatta was backing the former Prime minister to succed him upon expiry of his term.

However, in a statement on Thursday, August 25, Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdulahi said neither William Ruto nor Raila Odinga has a bigger stake in the outcome of the presidential petition.

He opined that the outgoing Head of State is the mastermind behind Raila’s petition because it has provided him with the best chance to deny President-elect William Ruto a chance to succeed him.

“Outgoing President Kenyatta has a bigger stake in the outcome of the Presidential petition before the Supreme Court than both President-Elect William Ruto and Hon Raila…the case presents the last suicidal chance to stop President Ruto,” Ahmednasir said in a Tweet.

Uhuru bitterly fell out with his deputy after he shook hands with his long-time political foe Raila Odinga, a partnership that saw his throw his weight behind Ruto’s bitter rival in the 2022 presidential elections.

Meanwhile, it is not yet clear what the outcome of the Supreme court will be.

If the court will nullify Ruto’s victory, then Uhuru will still be the president for the next two months as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) prepares for a fresh election within 60 days.

The fresh polls will be carried out between September 13 and November 13 this year.

Elsewhere, if the Supreme Court judges ruled out that the chairman of IEBC, Wafula Chebukati is not fit to conduct a fresh poll, then this may affect the fresh polls.

Raila in his petition argued that Chebukati should not be allowed to conduct the fresh election because of his ‘misconduct’.

If the court rules in Raila’s favour, then it may take a while for a new chairman to be elected.

This will also prolong Uhuru’s reign as the president.