Blow To Aukot As Court Dismisses Case Seeking To Bar Raila From Running for President

The High court has dismissed a suit filed by Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot seeking to bar Raila Odinga from vying for presidency.

Raila is the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance flagbearer.

The former presidential candidate moved to court in April claiming that the former prime minister was still a public servant, hence unqualified from running for the country’s top job.

In addition, Aukot requested that the court prevent the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from designating ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka as running partners in the upcoming August elections.

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Aukot and his chair Miruru Waweru claimed in a petition submitted to the court that the three are lifetime public workers and cannot resign to run for elective positions like other public officers.

They contended that Act No. 8 of 2015, the Retirement Benefits (Deputy President and Designated State Officers) Act, was passed by parliament in 2015 and that it established specific public offices that required those who were eligible to fill them to carry out the duties outlined in Section 8 of the Act.

“The Act recognizes the entitled persons and grants them both a generous retirement package and an obligation to serve as advisors to the government and the people of Kenya,” read court documents.

They contended that the advising function granted to the three leaders under Section 8 is mandatory and that those involved must serve in that capacity for the rest of their lives. They also claimed that career civil servants are not granted this privilege.

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“It is the considered view of the Petitioners that the said Respondents are by dint of the said Act of parliament public officers as their benefits are drawn from the consolidated fund as allocated by Parliament and their role is defined under the selfsame piece of legislation,” they argued.

He has also criticized the three leaders for running for office while still holding public office, claiming that their actions made a mockery of the laws governing public employees’ participation in politics and the smooth operation of our democracy.

According to the court documents, this privilege granted to the entitled individuals does not give them the choice to disengage or resign as public officers, unlike other public officers who can resign from their positions to compete for public office.

They further argued that preventing them from running would not violate their right to exercise their political freedom because no other public official is permitted to run for office.

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“In fact, it would be discriminative to restrict all other public servants and allow the 2nd to 4th respondents to be nominated by IEBC as presidential candidates or presidential running mates,” read court documents.

Aukot and Waweru said it was a great honor that the three leaders have been named public officers for life because they have served the country in a number of important political positions.

“By providing them with a lifetime public office job, the Act insulated them from the risks involved in searching for public office through the elective office which is not guaranteed,” they said.