The ruling on the tender for presidential ballot papers was a relief to the judiciary, High Court judge Msagha Mbogholi has said. “The determination eased tension both in the judiciary and the country,” he said on Monday.
But the judge noted they are prepared to deal with disputes that will arise from the August 8 general election. It has concluded training of High Court judges and magistrates who will hear petitions. The judiciary, Mbogholi said, handled a total of 305 petitions that arose from the party primaries.
“Out of this 125 ended in High Court, while 12 are in the Court of Appeal.”
He said the primaries were conducted too close to the general election so the judiciary struggled to determine the petitions. Mbogholi said another 92 magistrates have also been trained and spread across the country to deal with hate speech and voter bribery cases.
He cautioned politicians against attacking the judiciary. In May, Chief Justice David Maraga said he had appointed 10 High Court judges to handle appeals from cases related to the general election.
“We have a panel of judges, specially designated to listen to disputes expeditiously so verdicts can be rendered and people can have time to focus on convincing the electorate that they deserve to lead them,” he said.