Legal Earthquake as Attorney General Fights to Crush Petition Over Ruto’s IEBC Nominees.

A legal storm is brewing in Kenya’s judiciary as Attorney General Dorcas Oduor launches a powerful counterattack against a petition that threatens to derail President William Ruto’s latest appointments to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

In an explosive legal move, Oduor has filed a preliminary objection at the High Court, claiming the petition is not only premature but a direct violation of Kenya’s Constitution.

According to court documents, the AG argues the case brought by activists Kelvin Roy Omondi and Boniface Mwangi is “non-justiciable,” meaning the court should not even be entertaining it at this point. She claims the petitioners skipped critical constitutional steps and rushed to court without exhausting the legally mandated process.

“The petitioners have not utilized the avenues available to them under the law,” the AG argues, slamming the case as a blatant breach of the doctrine of exhaustion, which requires all internal remedies to be used before escalating the matter to the courts.

But that’s not all Oduor warns the judiciary that intervening now would be a dangerous overreach, effectively sabotaging the constitutional role of Parliament and distorting the balance of power among Kenya’s government branches.

“The court’s involvement at this early stage would interfere with the appointment process and encroach on the National Assembly’s constitutional mandate,” reads a scathing section of the AG’s objection.

The petition, which was sparked by President Ruto’s announcement earlier this month, questions the legality of appointing Erastus Edung Ethekon as IEBC chair and six other commissioners, including Anne Nderitu, Moses Mukwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor, Francis Odhiambo, and Fahima Abdalla.

Omondi and Mwangi insist the entire nomination process was flawed and unconstitutional. They warn that allowing Parliament to proceed with vetting would solidify appointments based on a “defective and illegal” process.

With tensions high and the integrity of the IEBC appointments hanging in the balance, all eyes are now on the courts. First up: the Attorney General’s fierce bid to have the entire case thrown out before it even begins.

This is more than a legal battle it’s a test of Kenya’s constitutional order.