The Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi have been closed for more than a week ahead of the hearing of presidential election petitions.
The court will temporarily host the Supreme Court sittings during the hearing of the nine Presidential petitions challenging William Ruto’s win in the August 9 presidential polls.
The proceedings will be held at the Milimani Law Court Ceremonial Hall, unlike the previous petitions where the hearing happened at the Supreme Court Building. This is due to Covid-19 pandemic regulations.
As a result, the Judiciary has closed the Milimani Law Courts for 11 days with effect from Friday August 26.
The Judiciary directed that during the 11-day period, urgent matters will be dealt with on online platforms.
“All advocates, prosecuting counsels, clients, national police service, the prison service take note that Milimani Chief Magistrate criminal court and Traffic Court will not be physically accessible due to the hearing of the Presidential Election Petitions as from August 26 to September 5, 2022,” a notice released on Tuesday reads in part.
“Take further notice that all fresh pleas and certificate of urgency will be filed and handled at City Court. All matters scheduled for this period will be mentioned virtually for directions by the respective courts during the period.”
The Supreme Court has received nine petitions, eight of which are seeking the invalidation of Ruto’s election and a repeat of the presidential election.
The ninth petition by Chama Cha Kazi party leader Moses Kuria and outgoing Mbeere South MP Geoffrey King’ang’i seeks to dismiss the suit filed by Raila Odinga and Martha Karua over alleged election malpractices.
The seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Martha Koome have until September 5 to determine the validity of Ruto’s election as Kenya’s fifth President.
The Apex court will hold a pre-trial conference on Tuesday next week, with the hearing expected to start immediately after, possibly on the same day.
