The Verdict.

After a week of arguing with each side eager for the six justices of the Supreme Court to hear their side of the events that led up to and culminated in the beleaguered and at times error plagued IEBC declaring Kenya’s 4^th president: Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta- the son of Jomo Kenyatta the countries first leader.

It would all come down to a few minutes on Saturday 28^th March half way through the long Easter weekend for the judges to hand down the news that would change both men’s near futures. The court’s unanimous ruling would force one of the two to go back to the drawing board and begin choosing and plotting some way forward.

One thing was for sure though; the news would make one man very happy and the other; well sad and disappointment probably paled in comparison to what Raila Odinga felt as he stood in front of the press corps that evening to thank the Supreme Court, accept their decision and wish his competitor for the most coveted seat in the land the best of luck in his new post.

This was the culmination of an appeal against the verdict lodged by the Prime Minister and his 10 man team of some of the most accomplished lawyers Kenya could provide. The team included former justice minister and now Governor Mutula Kilonzo and former AG and now Senator Amos Wako. With such a formidable team at his side the Prime Minister was giving himself every chance of a victory. Their main adversary would be the burden of proof.  Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto also brought together a team of their own. Add to this equation the IEBC’s lawyer or lawyers and those of the Africa Center For Open Governance (AFRICOG)  a Civil Society representing the rights of the people to know the truth and the stage was set for quite an intriguing play or drama if you prefer.  If anything this would be interesting; and it was; captivating to say the least.

And as with any drama be it on stage, on a small screen or a big budget screen drama stars must emerge and emerge they did or at least one burned brighter than the rest.  She seemed to surface from almost nowhere but boy did she make her presence know- she was a scene stealer if you would- as Kethi Kilonzo rose in full robe before the court and began to speak before the ‘those six people’- as they were christened by Uhuru Kenyatta who almost immediately apologized for his gaffe- we knew almost right away that we were all in for something rather special. 


If her name sounds familiar that because her-very proud- father is none other than Mutula Kilonzo who had a front row seat to his daughters powerful and captivating performance. She intentionally or unintentionally steered clear of big words and lawyerly jargon and this made here almost layman which made her much more captivating. She was easily understood by all from the common man to those more educated members of society. Her explanations were not bogged down- like wet sponges- with tons of jargon. She was sharp, and at times witty but always on the ball. In short she was awesome and her star rose almost overnight.

As with every soap smattering of high drama and light moments were splashed throughout the seven days this was none more evident than in the appearance before the judges of activist Nazlin Omar and boy was she loud in demanding that she and views be heard by the panel. The judges though had none of it at the time telling the activist to sit down multiple times, she persisted and at some point or other the treat of finding the lady in contempt finally got her to simmer down but if we thought we’d seen the last of her we were mistaken as she was back at it not too long after where the camera’s caught her grumbling and protesting about not being seen by the justices..

Throughout the process the camaraderie between the ‘learned friends’ was on show. Every average audience member got the impression that no matter the side of the fence the lawyer that they were all going to go down to the nearest pub when all this was over and have a laugh about it all.

Now that Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto have reached their land of milk and honey and the biggest job in the land is theirs they must set about uniting the country, thus making sure the elections and their divisive nature are a mere memory. He must lure the 5million people that did not cast their ballot with him to believe in him and his ‘digital’ government. One way to do this is by fulfilling his campaign promises and proving that his words weren’t said just for votes but that he meant them.
Already both ordinary people are eager for the new government to start work come Tuesday. Key among the expectations are :

·         Jobs for the youth who have for years now been jobless.

·         Stadiums they vowed to build in every county

·         The computers/laptops they promised to every child- for which they are praying hard

·         Deal with perhaps the biggest and most touchy issue in the land- Land

·         Resettlement of IDP’s

On top of all this they must ensure the smooth running of the relatively new devolved government.

The newly sworn in governors are already at odds with the government over among other things the right to fly the flag of county and country atop their official vehicles and the issue of their autonomy in the running of affairs in their perspective counties without intervention from previously appointed officials.

As if this is not enough their respective staunch political allies await in the wings to receive their just deserts- in the form of plump jobs/appointments in return for their loyalty and support.