Safina party presidential hopeful Jimi Wanjigi on Wednesday, June 29, unveiled President Uhuru Kenyatta's lawyer as his legal counsel in a fresh battle with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries (IEBC).
Wanjigi picked Fred Ngatia, a seasoned advocate of the High Court of Kenya, to lead his legal team in a bid to stop IEBC from conducting the August 9 General Elections accusing the commission of committing illegalities.
The businessman-cum politician moved to court seeking to stop the printing of ballot papers, arguing that the Wafula Chebukati-led electoral body erred in disqualifying him from the race.
Through Ngatia, the tycoon has told the court that he has the required university education qualifications and that Chebukati's move to bar him was discriminatory and ill-motivated.
He made reference to a ruling by Justice Isaac Lenaola in 2013, who allowed the commission to clear Mombasa governor Hassan Ali Joho to contest his seat using academic transcripts, before his graduation.
Justice Lenaola, who now sits at the Supreme Court ruled that a graduation ceremony could not be used as a measure of having attained university education since a degree was a process.
Ngatia told the court, that the judgment has never been challenged and thus remains to be law. Justice Jairus Ngaah called on IEBC to make its submissions by June 29, 3.pm to enable the court give further directions.
Having maintained that he will be on the ballot, Wanjigi is now banking on Ngatia's longstanding legal career to argue his case.
The soft-spoken lawyer represented Uhuru in the during the presidential election petition in 2013 where ODM leader Raila Odinga challenged his victory.The Supreme Court, under the then Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga upheld the Kenyatta's victory.
In 2017, Ngatia represented Francis Karoki Muruatetu and Wilson Thirimbu, in a case that led to the declaration of the mandatory death penalty unconstitutional by the apex court.
He has also saved judges facing tribunals as in the case of Justice Phillip Tunoi', who was suspended on bribery claims and Justice Mutava was accused of meeting a party involved in a case prior to the ruling. He won both cases.
Notably, his prowess does not only lie in the field of law. He played a great role in ensuring that Kenya's territorial sovereignty was not breached by neighbouring Sudan
A dissertation he wrote as a master's degree in law from the London School of Economics (LSE) focusing on the disputed 9,680 square metres rich in minerals helped resolve the dispute on the borderlines.
