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Deputy President William Ruto’s bosom buddy and lawyer, Ahmednassir Abdulahi, pulled a surprise when he announced that he will not be part of the president-elect’s defense legal team at the Supreme Court.
Through a tweet on his verified social media handles, Ahmednassir stated that instead, he will run a Commentary on the case and afterward, give a prediction of the outcome.
In making the decision not to represent William Ruto at the Supreme Court where he seeks to defend his win, Ahmednassir explained that he had previously acted for President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Supreme Court and there would arise several conflicts of interest issues and client-advocate privilege.
William Ruto receiving the election certificate from IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati
While on the surface, Ahmednassir’s reasons appear well-meaning, there is certainly more than meets the eye. For starters is his colleague Senior Counsel Fred Ngatia who had also represented President Uhuru in NASA’s 2017 petition and is now holding brief for William Ruto in this year’s presidential election petition. Wouldn’t the same reasons apply to Senior Counsel Fred Ngatia?
Ahmednassir’s Twitter Commentaries On JudgesÂ
Layer Ahmednassir Abdulahi has been called out by Kenya’s two Chief Justices for his use of social media to undermine, insult, and blackmail judges.
His new position that he will run a commentary on the case, giving its merits and demerits and eventually, giving an ‘outcome’ raises eyebrows on his real motives, especially considering his already known stand regarding the case.
Chief Justice David Maraga Vs Ahmednassir Abdulahi
Immediate former Chief Justice David Maraga went ahead and sued Lawyer Ahmednassir for constant attacks on his person, integrity, and office using social media. This was after Ahmednassir’s constant and unrelenting and yet unsubstantiated attacks on CJ Maraga after the nullification of President Uhuru’s 2017 election.
A screengrab of Ahmednassir’s tweets against former CJ Maraga
Chief Justice Martha Koome Vs Ahmednassir Abdulahi
Chief Justice Martha Koome has also had her share of social media attacks and blackmail from Ahmednassir Abdullahi. During the much-followed BBI case at the Supreme court, it took Chief Justice Koome to call out lawyers led by Ahmednassir Abdullahi for their incessant undermining of the Supreme Court by prosecuting the case on social media while it is actively before the court.
To redress the instances where lawyers such as Ahmednassir would run parallel prosecution of cases on social media and continue to profile and attack judges handling such cases, Chief Justice Koome gaged lawyers from commenting on active cases in court. However, the High Court quashed the gag order, dealing a blow to judges and allowing lawyers to whip public emotions even before courts arrive at their decision.
Supreme Court Commentary an Avenue for Shaping Public Opinion and Blackmail Judges?
True to his promise of running a commentary on the case before the Supreme Court, lawyer Ahmednassir Abdulahi has begun his work in earnest. Already, he has profiled the Supreme Court judges based on their previous voting patterns regarding presidential petitions.Â
Ahmednassir’s profiling of Supreme Court judges clothed as a commentary
While this may seem a harmless and normal expression of thoughts and opinions, it lays the grounds for failing the judges’ decisions based not on their analysis of evidence presented and arguments advanced but on their presumed patterns and reasons for making their decisions as advanced by Ahmednassir Abdulahi.
With unchecked powers as Twitter’s Cheif Justice in the 2022 Presidential petition at the Supreme Court, it is not rocket science to know the agenda being advanced by Ahmednassir and the consequences of such an explosive agenda to Kenya’s constitutional and political democracy.
