Sabina fails to stop IEBC probe as Orengo protests decision

Lawyers James Orengo and Otiende Amollo yesterday found themselves in an awkward situation when they were forced to defend Murang’a Woman Rep Sabina Chege in a case where she is alleged to have claimed the 2017 election was rigged in favour of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.

The two lawyers-cum-politicians had escorted Chege to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) where she appeared before the agency’s Electoral Code of Conduct committee chaired by the agency boss Wafula Chebukati. This, notwithstanding the fact that they had represented then opposition Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga in a petition challenging Uhuru and Ruto’s victory on strikingly similar grounds, that his victory had been stolen.

Chege was accused of telling an Azimio La Umoja rally in Vihiga county last Thursday the 2017 presidential election was in fact interfered with, and the same could happen on August 9 General Election to rig out Ruto. 

In utterances that sparked uproar especially in Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance camp, Chege reportedly stated: “Mnajua kule Central nimesikia wengine wakisema tuliwaibia. Kuna ka ukweli kidogo. Lakini kama tulijua kuiba… si hata hii tutafanya ninii… Kwani wanafikiria wao ndio wajanja? (You know in Central Kenya, I have heard some say we rigged. There is some truth. So if we managed to rig then, even in this (election), we can do the same. Or do they think that they are clever than us?”

Handshake spirit

Yesterday, Orengo and Amolo, who would have ordinarily celebrated Chege’s utterances as a vindication of their Supreme Court case, put up a spirited defence of their client, even castigating IEBC for summoning “one of the greatest promoters of unity and free and fair elections”.

“I want to say this without fear of contradiction that if there was ever a person who is advocating and promoting the spirit of the Handshake, the desire to have one nation called Kenya and indivisible nation, its Honourable Sabina Chege. She has been going all over the Republic speaking the language of peace and unity and to our consternation, she has been summoned by the commission to answer to utterances which when we look at them properly, they don’t amount to the accusations that the electoral commission is presenting to us. Those presentations are out of context… We are going to mount a challenge, and a big one,” Orengo proclaimed.

The two lawyers, flanked by Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, launched an onslaught against IEBC, making preliminary objections to the hearing of the case on grounds that the committee did not have the jurisdiction to consider the matter.

Hate speech

The committee, however, dismissed the application and ruled that the case proceeds to full hearing citing clause 6 (a) of the Code which requires that “during the election period, political parties, members of political parties and indeed all those bound by the Electoral Code of Conduct must publicly and repeatedly condemn violence, intimidation and avoid the use of hate speech, language or any kind of action which may lead to violence or intimidation”.

But Orengo castigated the commission, saying it had ignored other aspects of their preliminary objections in the case that will be heard on Tuesday next week.

“In making that decision, they only dealt with one ground yet we raised five or more grounds as to why this matter should not proceed before the committee but all we can say now is that we are getting the necessary material including the decision, the clip, the legal team will sit down and make a decision,” the Siaya Senator said.