President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday joined a case by former Kilome legislator Harun Mwau seeking to stop the IEBC from conducting the October 26 repeat election.
President Kenyatta through his lawyers submitted that being a candidate in the election, it was his right to be part of the case and give his views on the matter before the court.
The presiding judge, Justice Chacha Mwita directed that the President, the Attorney General, and Thirdway Alliance leader Ekuru Aukot be admitted as interested parties.
"Having considered the applications, I find that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Aukot would be directly affected by any decision made by the court and is only fair if they are joined to argue their case as interested parties,” the Judge stated.
[caption caption="File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta, his lawyers and Jubilee Party Leaders"]
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Mwau sued the electoral agency and its Chairman Wafula Chebukati for planning to hold a fresh election without nominations.
The politician filed a case at the High Court seeking to bar the IEBC from conducting the October 26 repeat election.
In the case filed on Monday under a certificate of urgency, Mr Mwau accused the electoral body of conducting an election contrary to the Constitution.
“It is clear that the respondents are seeking to waive provisions of the Constitution and the law which they have no power to do, and as a matter of course if the fresh presidential elections are allowed to proceed as the respondents intend, the Supreme Court will invalidate the same,” the petition read in part.
He argued that after the Supreme Court nullified the August 8 election, IEBC should have organized fresh nominations before conducting the upcoming poll.
IEBC based its decision of not conducting fresh nominations on the 2013 ruling by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga.
[caption caption="File image of former Kilemi MP Harun Mwau"]
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“If the petitioner was only one of the candidates, and who had taken the second position in vote-tally to the President-elect, then the “fresh election” will, in law, be confined to the petitioner and the president-elect,” Mutunga’s judgment read in part.
