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Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter
RETIRED High Court judge Justice Moses Chinhengo is on the panel of eminent African jurists observing the Kenyan Supreme Court as it adjudicates the 2022 Kenya presidential election petition, with the hearing starting on Tuesday and the verdict expected on September 5.
Losing candidate Mr Raila Odinga filed a presidential petition challenging the declaration of Dr William Ruto as President-elect, citing alleged rigging and a split in the commission that oversaw the vote.
Dr Ruto was two weeks ago declared the winner of Kenya’s closely-fought presidential poll in the first round after he secured 50,49 percent of the vote in his first-ever attempt at the top job, just ahead of Mr Odinga on 48.85 percent. As he has before, Mr Odinga is contesting the vote and count.
Justice Chinhengo is a member of the eminent jurists under the Africa Judges and Jurists Forum, which commissioned the high-level panel of African jurists to observe the 2022 Presidential Election Petition in Kenya.
The civil trial observation mission is headed by the Rtd Chief Justice of the Republic of Tanzania, Justice Mohammed Chande Othman.
The eminent jurists will be attending all Supreme Court hearings, and will monitor and document the presidential election petition based on international human rights standards of fair trial standards, analyse the role and independence of the judiciary in examining electoral disputes and review the socio-political climate in the run-up to the petition, according to a statement from the Forum secretary general, Mr Martin Okumu Masiga.
“At the end of the trial observation, the observers will develop a comprehensive report aimed at contributing to a more professional, independent, impartial, and accountable Judiciary, a more independent legal profession, and better adherence to the rule of law and international legal standards concerning the resolution of electoral disputes,” he said.
Justice Chinhengo, who serves on the ad hoc Court of Appeal of Lesotho, is a member of the mission.
The involvement of Justice Chinhengo is considered a boon for the mission because of his wealth of judicial experience spanning a number of countries in the region including Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia.
“His previous experience monitoring the 2013 and 2017 presidential election petitions in Kenya will bring added value to the mission. It will also be remembered that Justice Moses Chinhengo also helped draft the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” said Mr Masiga.
Other delegation members include Justices Ivy Kamanga from the Supreme Court of Appeal of Malawi; Lillian Tibatemwa-Ekirikubinza of the Supreme Court of Uganda; and Boissie Henry Mbha, the immediate past President and Chairperson of the Electoral Court of South Africa.
The Supreme Court of Kenya has framed nine issues to consider in determining the presidential petition challenging the declaration of Dr Ruto as President-elect.
During the pre-trial conference at the Supreme Court on Monday, Chief Justice Martha Koome read out the areas the seven-judge bench will consider as parties to the petition submit their evidence.
Part of the observation process is to make it clear that Africa has no problem with Africans monitoring their peers, since every advance is driven by Africans and acceptable to Africans.
Online Reporter