By Donald Kipkorir
Supreme Court Declared Presidential Results Void: Legal Meaning
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice David Maraga declared the August 8 Presidential Elections Void ab Initio. The Elections to be held on October 26 are Fresh Elections. They are not Re-run or repeat.
In law, “Void ab Initio” means what is cancelled is made zero, nugatory, naught, nihil, non-existent, lacking in validity.
In commercial contracts, when the Court or Arbitration declares a contract void, it means there is no contract. In Family Court, when marriage is declared void it means there was no marriage. In Land Division Court, when a Title Deed is declared void, all rights under it disappear.
When CJ Maraga in majority decision said the August 8 Presidential Elections are void, there are no results then. No one can speak of any figures. No candidate got any number of votes. The results were voided. You cannot claim to own a title Deed that has been cancelled. You can’t claim to have a contract that has been voided.
At all times, we must have fidelity to the law. If we can’t respect the legal meaning of Void in Elections, how will we respect decisions of Commercial, Family & Property Courts. How will we make Nairobi a Financial Centre? People must have confidence that decisions of our Courts mean what they say.
The saddest part is when Senior Lawyers mislead and misadvise their clients on meaning of VOID. Tragedy is that the whole public is likewise misled. When results or certificates or degrees or Title Deeds are voided in law, you have nothing. It is ZERO.
