IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati’s lawyer Prof Githu Muigai has defended him against accusations by various petitioners of fraud during the August 9, General Election.
In his defence in the Supreme Court, Prof Muigai said there was no wrong Chebukati and his IEBC team had committed before, during and after the voting on the presidential election.
Muigai, who is the former Attorney General, said the IEBC boss should not be pilloried saying he had outperformed himself during this year’s election and should be praised.
“This gentleman goes beyond anything we have ever had before. It (the vilification) was personalised, vindictive and intended to lower his standing,” said Prof Muigai in court.
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During his submissions on Thursday, he told the court not to allow such attacks on Chebukati.
“The pattern of attack is the same since the Kivuitu-led commission. None of them has been allowed to leave office without vilification and a vindictive process being engineered towards them,” the former AG noted.
He added, “There is nothing wrong with Chebukati. There is something very wrong in the way the persons who participate in the electoral process accept losing or winning after an election.”
Prof Muigai added that Chebukati should be lauded as a Kenyan hero for his outstanding work during the process of this General Election instead of being bashed.
“I am certain Chebukati will one day be recognised as one of our great heroes in society.”
He argued that Chebukati acted as the commission Chairperson as stipulated in the constitution and that it protected all IEBC office holders in the execution of their work.
“All the commissioners were on board until the 11th and a half hour. There was an effort to ensure the process ends without the declaration of results. The action of the four commissioners was an afterthought and should be seen as that. One shudders to contemplate what could have happened,” he averred.
Muigai asked the seven Supreme Court judges to dismiss the consolidated petition.
