How Supreme court Judges faced pressure from the public
Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Philomena Mwilu says judges involved in hearing the presidential petition faced intense pressure from the public.
Mwilu spoke on Monday, moments after Chief Justice Martha Koome threw out the petition challenging President-elect William Ruto’s victory.
The judgment clears the path for Ruto to be sworn in as the fifth president of Kenya.
Mwilu was also part of the bench that nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory in the 2017 polls.
She told the public that the seven-man bench consisting Justice Koome, herself, Smokin Wanjala, Isaac Lenaola, Njoki Ndung’u, Mohammed Ibrahim, and Isaac Ouko received numerous calls from people.
“As ground rules, we (the seven judges) agreed when we left you here on Friday that we would not pick any of your calls. A lot of you called us, but we just couldn’t pick any of your calls,” she explained.
“Many of you called us, but we just couldn’t pick your calls and I hope you understand that we could not.”
The DCJ further suggested the reason the judges did not answer the calls was because of fear it would influence their judgment.
CJ Koome who read out the judgment said ‘we declare the election of the first respondent as President-elect to be valid’.
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