Raila, Ruto lawyers get three hours each for submissions in Supreme Court case
The legal teams for Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Coalition Party and the Kenya Kwanza Alliance have each been allocated three hours to make their oral submissions with the other petitions allocated 30 minutes each.
Hearing of petitions by the seven Supreme Court Judges, led by Chief Justice Martha Karambu Koome, will commence on Wednesday and will see the main petitioners, Raila Odinga and Martha Karua, seeking to have Dr William Ruto’s election victory nullified.
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Dr Ruto and his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, have also been allocated three hours to share, with the Attorney General being given 30 minutes.
For the respondents, the four commissioners supporting the petition, who include Juliana Cherera, Irene Masit, Justus Nyangaya and Francis Wanderi, have been allocated one hour to share while the smaller faction of the IEBC who are in opposition to the petition and the chair Wafula Chebukati have been allocated three hours to share.
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The three Amici Curiae, who include the Law Society of Kenya, the ICJ Kenya and three ICT officials – John Walubengo, Joseph Sevilla and Martin Mirero represented by senior counsel Charles Kanjama – have not been allocated time to make oral submissions but the court will rely on their briefs.
“This time allocation is in consideration of the limited time for the petition which is 14 days,” Koome told the lawyers during a status conference on Tuesday ahead of hearings.
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During the rejoinder, which will happen on Friday, the main petitioners have been given one hour with the other petitioners allocated 15 minutes each. The deadline for rendering the judgment is set for Monday, September 5.
According to the law, the Supreme Court is expected to deliver judgement on presidential petitions 14 days after the petitions are filed. Azimio will be represented by a team of 43 lawyers while Kenya Kwanza Alliance, led by President-elect Ruto, has assembled a team of 54 lawyers to represent them.