Kenya election court battle: President-elected 4,463 additional votes

By Brian Wasuna, NAIROBI Kenya

Julie Soweto, a lawyer in Azimio leader Raila Odinga’s legal team, has alleged that 4,463 votes were deducted from her client and added to Kenya’s President-elect William Ruto in Bomet, Kiambu, Kakamega, Nairobi and Baringo Counties.

In submissions made at the country’s Supreme Court Wednesday, she also argued that there were inconsistencies in 41 Forms 34A from Bomet, Kiambu and Kakamega given to agents and what is in the IEBC portal, adding that what was submitted at the national tallying centre at Bomas of Kenya was different.

"IEBC procured two sets of forms 34A. It was intended that only booklet 1/1 would be used at polling stations while 2/2 would be stored in a tamper-proof envelope. Celestine Anyango's affidavit shows deliberate mischief in the use of forms. The forms that agents have and forms in the portal are the same in all features (serial numbers, stamps, signatures). However, the figures in the forms have been tampered with and are different," she said.

Before her, Senior Counsel James Orengo, also in Mr Odinga's legal team, argued that the IEBC is dysfunctional and cannot carry out an election. He also argued that the forms were tampered with.

"In totality, the discrepancies accounted for more than 140,000 votes. That has an impact on the results of the elections as declared," he said.

In asking the court to nullify the election outcome announced by IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati, he also brought up the matter of the national voter turnout as announced by the electoral agency. 

"In this exercise I invite your lordships to look at the affidavit of Edgar Otumba. He swore two affidavits. He did assist this court in 2017. He states that on August 9, Mr Chebukati issued a communique that the total voter turnout at 4pm nationwide was at over 56 percent. At the close of voting, IEBC issued a statement that the total voter turnout was over 65 percent," he said.

Mr Orengo also argued that affidavits sworn by Mr Otumba show that even with the disputed IEBC figures, there is no way Dr Ruto garnered more than 50 percent of the valid votes cast as required by the Constitution. 

"We want to persuade you that William Ruto never attained that Constitutional threshold (50% + 1)," he added.