The Star 10/12/2017

If the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017 is enacted to law, a presidential candidate who is left in race after the withdrawal of an opponent will be declared President. The Bill yesterday sailed through on the floor of the National Assembly, despite the absence of NASA lawmakers. They have vowed to snub the amendment process. The House, chaired by Deputy Speaker Moses Cheboi (Kuresoi North), approved the Bill, which seeks clarity in a case where a candidate pulls out of the race. “Where only one candidate remains he or she shall be declared President-elect without any election being held,” reads Section 86 A ( 4 ) (b) of the Bill. Joint Parliamentary Committee chairman William Cheptumo (Baringo North) said the amendments will guide the October 26 fresh presidential election, to…

MALARIA JAB TO BE TESTED First pilot scheduled for January Children in malaria-prone areas will be vaccinated against the disease in January, the Health ministry has said. Kenya is one of three African countries selected by the WHO to participate in the first pilot implementation of the vaccine early next year. The ministry said the vaccines will be given in four doses to babies aged between five–17 months. See Page 11 NURSES OUT OF PAYROLL Payslips withdrawn in Trans Nzoia The payslips for nurses in Trans Nzoia county have been withdrawn. Kenya National Union of Nurses’ branch secretary Willy Sifuna said on Tuesday they tried to download their payslips and were shocked to learn they are no longer on the payroll. The nurses sought help from the county assembly. Efforts…

Thirdway Alliance presidential candidate Dr Ekuru Aukot won a major reprieve after the High Court yesterday ordered the IEBC to include his name on the presidential ballot. Justice John Mativo ruled the IEBC violated the politician’s rights when it gazetted only President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA leader Raila Odinga and their running mates as the only legitimate contenders in the October 26 poll. The judge said having participated in and supported the petition that nullified the August 8 poll in the Supreme Court, there was nothing to bar Aukot from contesting in the fresh election. “I find no legal basis to justify IEBC and its chair Wafula Chebukati’s decision to exclude him from contesting the fresh election,” ruled the judge. Consequently, Mativo ordered the electoral body to immediately issue a…

EKURU Aukot, the man of the moment, was yesterday relishing his inclusion in the fresh presidential election after a protracted court battle. Of course, coming hot on the heels of a withdrawal by NASA leader Raila Odinga, there was reason the man was excited. He could pull a surprise in Kenya’s history by steadying the election date and perhaps inherit some influential constituency of voters. But one man, Cyrus Jirongo, was agonising after the court declared him bankrupt, consequently locking him out of any public office. The former Lugari MP will have his property in receivership for the foreseeable future. THERE is talk of some NASA legislators abusing the respectable “Honorable” title to cash in unlawfully without breaking a sweat. NASA legislators have tactfully boycotted House sessions, yet make technical…

Opposition chief Raila Odinga’s political game plan yesterday was scuttled by a High Court ruling likely to give President Uhuru Kenyatta an easy ride. The day after Raila dramatically withdrew from presidential rerun, a High Court in Nairobi gave a lifeline to all August 8 poll losers — spoiling a NASA strategy that depended on a scenario with only two contenders, one of whom withdraws. Before the court ruling yesterday, the apparent NASA game plan —calling for nominations and a totally new election — had confounded many people and left Uhuru and his brigade pondering their next move to ensure his legitimacy. The repeat election is to be on October 26. Raila’s strategy depends on paragraph 290 of the 2013 Supreme Court ruling on his own presidential petition. The six-member…

Familiar to all lawyers is Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’s statement, “If my countrymen want to go to hell, I will help them. It’s my job.” Have our judges taken us there? Raila pulled out of October 26 polls citing the IEBC’s failure to reform. Uhuru dared him, stating that Kenya is bigger than an individual. The withdrawal was met with lamentations; Raila was accused of insensitivity to the nation’s polls preparation resources. The ensuing stalemate is compounded by partisan interpretations on the ramifications of the decision. Justice Mativo’s inclusion of Ekuro Aukot only adds to the confusion. In Parliament, MP Mbarire celebrated, “We can now have an election now that Ekuro will be on the ballot”. Really? Uhuru and Raila were gazetted as the only candidates for the rerun. The…