Court orders IEBC to give Cord phone details

Serial numbers of mobile phones used by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) during the elections are to be released to the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) for use in its presidential election petition.

The High Court on Tuesday ordered the electoral commission to release the information to Cord presidential candidate Raila Odinga head of campaign secretariat Eliud Owalo.

Mr Owalo, through lawyer Jotham Arwa, had complained to the court that the commission had refused to release the serial numbers and SIM cards of the phones.

“I am told that they cannot be released for security reasons,” Mr Arwa submitted before Justice Isaac Lenaola.

“I see no security reasons involved.”

The IEBC denied the allegations.

Kamau Karori, lawyer for the IEBC, told the judge that the electoral body had given Mr Owalo all information that he had asked for in the court petition.

“IEBC has not refused or neglected to release anything,” he said.

Mr Owalo, acting on behalf of Mr Odinga’s coalition, moved to the High Court to compel the electoral commission to allow it to access information and documents relating to the March 4 presidential elections, which Mr Odinga has disputed.

Using information already provided by the IEBC following the suit, Mr Odinga has filed a petition at the Supreme Court to challenging the manner in which the commission conducted the elections.

However, his coalition is still seeking the information, which the IEBC is reluctant to release.

“We cannot give SIM card numbers as the security of the items will be compromised,” Mr Karori told Mr Justice Lenaola.

The judge directed the commission to release the serial numbers of the transmission gadgets and directed the parties to return to court Thursday for further directions.