It is a rush against time as the Supreme Court prepares to hear the nine petitions filed Monday to challenge the outcome of the August 9 presidential polls.

The petitions are likely to be consolidated into one petition during the pre-trial conference.

The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition and eight other petitioners want the Supreme Court to overturn President-elect William Ruto's win citing irregularities and a mismatch of election results. 

Petitioners are on Tuesday expected to serve the respondents with the petition.

Ruto, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and its chairman Wafula Chebukati have been listed as respondents in the petitions.

Upon being served, the respondents will have four days to file and serve the petitioners with their responses to issues raised. This will be on Saturday, August 27, 2022.

Thereafter, the petitioners will file and serve their rejoinder to the responses filed by the respondents on August 28.

A day later on August 29, parties will be given time to file interlocutory applications.

Interlocutory applications are used to ask the court to make certain orders particularly when one party believes the other has not complied with court procedure obligations.

They are basically used to stop parties from acting unethically during litigation of a matter. 

On Tuesday, August 30, parties will have time to file and serve responses to interlocutory applications. 

The following day on August 31, individuals interested in being enjoined in the petitions as friends of the court, otherwise known as amicus curiae in legal jargon, will file their applications and serve the parties.

An amicus curiae is an impartial adviser to a court of law in a particular case.

On Thursday, September 1, the Supreme Court will hold the pre-trial conference.

A pretrial conference is a meeting of the parties to a case conducted prior to trial.

Generally, a pretrial conference serves several reasons.

It helps the court to establish managerial control over the case and discourages wasteful pretrial activities.

The court also uses the conference to improve the quality of trial with thorough preparation including eliminating repetitive evidence.

During the pre-trial conference, judges will formulate and simplify the issues in the petition, eliminate frivolous claims or defences, obtain admissions of facts and documents to avoid unnecessary proof, and identify witnesses and documents.

The court will also use the pre-trial conference to make rulings on interlocutory applications and applications for those seeking to be friends of the court.

After the pre-trial conference, the court will begin hearing the petition the following day on September 2 and deliver its verdict on September 5, 2022, fourteen days after the petition was filed. By Emmanuel Wanjala, The Star