Kakamega Senator Dr. Boni Khalwale appears in the dock at the Kakamega Law Courts. On Monday, June 13, 2016, his defense lawyer, Calistus Shifuko, successfully filed a High Court order to stay the proceedings, preventing the Senator from taking a plea. Khalwale was facing charges of participating in an unlawful assembly and rioting after a proclamation to disperse was made during anti-IEBC protests in Kakamega town on May 23. The prosecution alleged that Khalwale led demonstrators even after the CORD coalition leadership had officially called off that day’s nationwide protests following a deal for dialogue. Lawyer Shifuko argued that the charges were “malicious and unconstitutional,” successfully petitioning the High Court to resolve the legal technicalities of the charge sheet before the lower court could proceed. Outside the courtroom, Khalwale maintained that the protests were a peaceful expression of the people’s lack of confidence in the electoral commission, vowing that legal intimidation would not silence the push for electoral reforms ahead of the 2017 polls. June 13, 2016.