Kenya's top court lacks quorum to rule on election fate

Chief Justice David

Kenya's Chief Justice David Maraga was today forced to postpone a last-minute hearing on whether or not to delay a presidential election, as only two of seven judges were present in court.

"This matter cannot be heard this morning," Maraga said during a brief court appearance, quashing opposition hopes of a final shot at delaying an election it says cannot be credible, free and fair.

Maraga said his deputy, Philomena Mwilu, could not attend the hearing due to the shooting of her bodyguard on Tuesday.

Another judge was ill and out of the country, one could not get a flight to Nairobi and two were "not able to come to court".

At least five judges are needed to form a quorum.

The opposition and some observers have called for the re-run of the election to be delayed after opposition leader Raila Odinga withdrew from the race.

He accuses the election commission of failing to make sufficient reforms since the Supreme Court annulled the result of an August 8 election due to widespread irregularities in the electronic transmission of vote results.

Odinga has vowed to announce his final decision on the holding of the election at a rally in Nairobi on Wednesday afternoon.

However Nairobi city officials ruled the gathering "illegal", saying the opposition had not followed proper procedures to hold the meeting at the Uhuru Park grounds.