The Attorney-General Prof Githu Muigai has applied to be enjoined in NASA election petition at the Supreme Court as a friend of the court known as “amicus curiae” in legal lingo.
Article 165 (5) of the Constitution, according to Prof Muigai, allows him to appear in a civil case which government is not party to of course with the permission of the court.
In an affidavit filed at the Supreme Court on Friday, the AG said that his appearance on the petition is of great public interest.
He was countering an argument by NASA lawyer Paul Mwangi who had argued that he should not be allowed to be enjoined in the case as amicus curiae as he has in the past showed partiality.
The AG said with the Presidential election petition, his participation is paramount in his capacity as the Chief legal advisor to government.
In his application, Prof Muigai argued that the invalidation of Presidential election should factor in the constitutional and legal threshold set.
“[It should be] within the context of the applicable legal and evidential burden of proof, the standard of proof and the irregularity in the issue,” he said in his application as quoted by Daily Nation.
He argued that for the Presidential election to be invalidated, “the threshold required to disturb the election is such that the evidence has to disclose profound massive irregularities in the management of the electoral process.”
Thus, NASA will have to prove that non-compliance with electoral regulations caused a variation of votes between Uhuru and Raila.
By Pharis Kinyua. He’s an online Journalist and an author for Jamhuri News