LATEST: Bodyguard of Kenya’s deputy chief justice shot

NAIROBI. – The bodyguard and driver of Kenya’s deputy chief justice was shot and seriously injured on Tuesday – just two days before a divisive re-run of the country’s presidential election.

Philomena Mwilu was part of a majority of Supreme Court judges who voted to annul the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta last month, following the initial August vote.

The judge, who was not with her driver at the time of the Nairobi shooting, is due to hear a last-ditch legal bid on Wednesday to delay the new poll, set for Thursday.

“We have launched an investigation and we are looking for the criminals who shot the deputy chief justice’s driver,” Nairobi police chief Japheth Koome said.

The attacker, who arrived on a motorbike before open-firing, seized the driver’s weapon, a police source told AFP, quoting a witness.

“It happened so fast, the guy just jumped off the motorbike and sprayed him with bullets,” the officer said. – AFP