Two young men, whose petition challenging President Uhuru Kenyatta’s election win was rejected by the Supreme Court, have appealed against the decision.
The petition, filed under a paupers brief, was rejected by Deputy Registrar Daniel ole Keiwua on the spot.
MUD HOUSE
Mr Keiwua said he rejected the petition for want of form and for failing to adhere to the court’s rules and procedures.
He also said the petition failed to meet the threshold of filing presidential election petition.
But on Tuesday, 27-year-old George Bush and his 25-year-old colleague John Chengo lodged their appeal at the Supreme Court registry.
They said they were not satisfied with the registrar’s decision.
They said they were condemned unheard and the court should hear them “for the sake of justice”.
In their court documents, Mr Bush and Mr Chengo claimed that they live in “mud-thatched house without windows” in Huruma estate, Nairobi.
They said getting a meal, leave alone three meals a day, is a privilege.
PROOF
They attached their M-Pesa transactions as proof of the penury.
“Article 258 does not foresee a situation where any Kenyan shall be denied justice on grounds of rules, procedures by any courts unless such persons are driven by malice,” Mr Bush said.
Order 33, rule 16(1) of the civil procedure act states “If any defendant alleges that he is unable to pay court fees the registrar, upon application being made for that purpose, shall inquire into the question of his poverty and if he is satisfied on oath that the allegation of poverty is true, shall record the result of his investigation and a statement of proportion of the fees (if any) which the defendant is able to pay.”
Supreme Court rules allows a party whose case has been rejected by the registrar to appeal before a single judge.
The two applicants want the court to set aside the registrar’s decision and hear their case.
SH1M
They went to the apex court seeking to file the case without paying the required court fees and security for costs.
Some Sh1 million is deposited in court to act as security for payment of costs while the filing fees can go up to Sh500,000 depending on the documents.
The two young men are former Moi University student leaders and in their case, they argue that the withdrawal of National Super Alliance (Nasa) presidential candidate Raila Odinga from the repeat poll meant that the electionl was cancelled.
They also said that the fact that election was not held in more than 25 constituencies affected the outcome.
The have named Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EIBC), President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga as respondents.
The applicants will now appear before a single judge who will decide whether the decision by the registrar was wrong and whether their petition should be admitted.
