Former Chief Justice David Maraga has recounted facing immense pressure after nullifying the August 2017 general elections.

The Supreme Court annulled the result of the presidential election that declared Uhuru Kenyatta president, citing irregularities, and ordered a new one within 60 days.

Speaking at a local TV station on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, he stated that the judiciary faced budget cuts after he delivered the judgement.

“I am one of the Chief Justices who faced the greatest pressure because of the 2017 judgement. Some people questioned why I behaved the way I did,” he said.

“But for me, in order to uphold the Constitution, I had no option but to annul and reject the election. After that, budget cuts became the order of the day for the judiciary,” he added.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had declared incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta the winner by a margin of 1.4 million votes.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the commission was “rotten” and demanded resignations and prosecutions.

President Kenyatta said he would respect the court’s decision but also branded the judges “crooks”.

In his ruling, Maraga said the August 8, 2025, elections had not been “conducted in accordance with the constitution” and declared them “invalid, null, and void”.

Judgement

He stated that the verdict was supported by four of the six Supreme Court justices.

Further, he said the election commission had failed “to conduct the presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the constitution”.

He said the commission had committed irregularities “in the transmission of results”, adding that the court would provide details in a full judgement within 21 days.

Dissenting judges said that the NASA opposition alliance, which had petitioned the Supreme Court, failed to prove claims that the polls had been rigged.

Further, he explained the reason for dissolving parliament in 2020, citing a lack of gender balance in the national assembly during his term.

“Towards the end of my term, the Constitution required Parliament to have gender balance, that no one gender should have more than two-thirds representation. Parliament was given five years, but those five years passed without the bill being enacted,” he recounted. 

“The Constitution says that if there are petitions by Kenyans, the Chief Justice should recommend to the President to dissolve Parliament. I received eight petitions, so I made the recommendation to dissolve Parliament,” he added.