The Supreme Court has dismissed an application by President-elect William Ruto to block IEBC commissioners from the petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election.

In a ruling issued online on Monday night, the seven judges of the apex court ruled that the seven commissioners, including the four dissenting ones, were justly included in the case.

They argued that the main basis of three the petitions is that IEBC, which the commissioners belong to, failed to execute its mandate as outlined in Article 138 (3) (c) of the Constitution.

“This failure as claimed by the petitioners, was occasioned by the exclusion of the four commissioners from the verification and tallying process by the chair Wafula Chebukati,” the apex court judges said.

The judges said the inclusion of the four dissenting commissioners is based on their media briefings in which they disowned the presidential poll results announced by Chebukati.

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“This statement by the four commissioners brings them squarely within the ambit of grievance by the petitioners. The latter (petitioners) cannot be faulted for seeking to place before the court any evidence emanating from the four,” the apex court added.

Similarly, the court also refused to strike out Attorney General Paul Kihara from the presidential poll petition given he is the current Attorney General of the Republic of Kenya.

“The holder of such an office has more capacity than any other litigant in this country to fend off any attempts to join him in proceedings to which he ought not to be a party,” the judges argued in the ruling.


The Chief Justice Martha Koome-led court also enjoined the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) as Amicus Curiae in the petition saying they met all requirements to be included in the case.

The chief architects of the presidential petition are Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua who are opposing the outcome of the election.