'It's a waste of time,' Raila Now says concerning the petition to have him removed from the August elections
Raila Odinga, the leader of the ODM Party, has filed grounds for opposition in a case filed to prevent him from running for president in the August 9th General Election.
Anthony Mutisya 
He claims that the petition filed by Thirdway Alliance Kenya party leader Ekuru Aukot is premature because it is based on mere suspicion rather than a legal violation.
“The petition is defective both in form and in substance and is therefore unmerited and brought in bad faith,” reads court papers.
In the case, Aukot is attempting to prevent Raila Odinga, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, and ANC's Musalia Mudavadi from running in the upcoming August General Election on the grounds that they are public officers and thus ineligible to run for President.
According to Aukot, the three are recipients of the Retirement Benefits (Deputy President and Designated State Officers) Act, which was passed by Parliament in 2015.
Odinga claims in a preliminary objection that the court is being invited to engage in an academic exercise that is "a waste of precious judicial time."
He claims that the petition is fatally flawed because the petitioners have not pleaded or presented any evidence in support of the allegations regarding the payment of any monies to them or the appointment of any such accountants as alleged.
“A retired public officer is not a public officer. The Public Service Commission, therefore, has no jurisdiction over the entitled persons,” argues Odinga.
The Kenyan leader of the Thirdway Alliance wants the court to order the IEBC not to allow Odinga, Kalonzo, and Mudavadi to run for President or Deputy President.
He claims that if the IEBC approves the three to run in the upcoming elections, the commission will be "rubber-stamping the unlawful conflict of interest that the three embody by being active politicians while enjoying perks reserved for retired public servants."
"It is EXTREMELY necessary that this court URGENTLY determines this Petition since the electoral timelines have already been published and the concerned Respondents May be Cleared or elected," reads the petition.
