- However, Odinga's lawyer Mwangi argued that their applications were filed late.
- He said that the experts were merely repeating arguments already made by the other parties.
ODM party leader Raila Odinga and the Building Bridges Initiative secretariat have opposed a bid by five law experts to be enjoined in the BBI appeal.
Through lawyer Paul Mwangi, Odinga has asked the Supreme Court not to admit the five professors as friends of the court in the appeal, arguing that their applications were filed late in the day.
Early this month, professors Rosalind Dixon, David E. Landau, Gautam Bhatia, Richard Albert and Yaniv Roznai made an application to be enjoined in the matter to help the court determine the case.
However, Odinga and BBI argue that their application is ill-conceived and intended to prolong and convolute the hearing and determination of of the appeal.
“An amicus brief ought to be made timeously and presented within reasonable time. Dilatory filing of such briefs tends to compromise their essence as well as the terms of the Constitution’s call for resolution of disputes without undue delay,” reads court documents.
Mwangi further argues that the said professors have all along been aware of the instant proceedings from the High Court and never made any attempts to participate and or be joined.
He said it is a mere afterthought for them to make the application at this stage in an attempt to convolute and drag the hearing of appeal.
It was their belief that the experts' briefs do not address points of law not already addressed by the parties to the suit.
He said they did not introduce any such novel aspects of the legal issue in question that aids the development of the law to warrant their joinder in these proceedings.
“The applicants have not demonstrated...that the submissions they intend to be advanced will give such assistance to the court as would otherwise not have been available,” they said.
Mwangi said that the experts were merely repeating arguments already made by the parties, both at the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
The BBI appeal was mentioned yesterday before the apex court and parties who had not responded to the application for joinder have been asked to do so by close of business on Friday, October 22.
The Attorney General, IEBC and Morara Omoke, who filed their appeals in the matter, have been granted seven days each to file and serve their respective rejoinders to the responses filed.
The petitions shall be mentioned on October 27 before the Supreme Court deputy registrar to confirm compliance and for further directions.