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Gloves come off in Kenya ahead of new presidential vote

Judges stand to deliver their verdict at the Supreme Court in Nairobi on September 1, 2017, ordering a new presidential election within 60 days after cancelling after cancelling the results of last month’s poll.
Kenya’s Supreme Court nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s election win last month and called for new elections within 60 days. AFP PHOTO

– ‘Assault’ on the judiciary –

Calling Kenyatta’s remarks “an assault on the judiciary”, the Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA) late Saturday asked people to ignore “political rhetoric”.

“The president of this country referred to the president of the Supreme Court and the other judges as “wakora”, or crooks in Swahili, said the association’s chief, Bryan Khaemba.

“He went on to make veiled threats against the same judges based on their decision. The same threats against the judiciary have been repeated at State House,” he said, referring to the presidential palace.

“We condemn this assault on the decisional independence of the honourable judges.”

The electoral commission has vowed to make “internal changes” ahead of the new vote, though its chairman, Wafula Chebukati, ruled out resigning himself.

The current crop of IEBC commissioners took office only seven months before the election, after their predecessors were forced to step down following widespread protests.

The previous commission had been tarnished by a corruption scandal and its handling of flawed 2013 elections, which saw a series of high-tech safeguards failing on election day.



 

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