A Judge on Thursday dismissed an application to disqualify herself from hearing one of the two petitions challenging the election of Kisii Governor James Ongwae.
Justry Lumumba filed the application to have Justice Hellen Omondi to disqualify herself on grounds that her spouse Samuel Omondio Ogada and Ongwae are close friends to ODM party leader Raila Odinga.
Lumumba’s lawyer Sonye Ondari argued that Omondi has to disqualify herself for the interest of fairness and justice to his client.
He said that there is likely to be a conflict of interest.
Ondari submitted that Ogada is also a personal physician to NASA leader Raila Odinga.
He claimed that Ogada was one of the key organizers of all NASA meetings in Nakuru.
He told the Court that Raila had shown great interest in Ongwae winning the governorship seat saying his friendship will affect the manner in which Justice Omondi will handle the case.
Ongwae’s lead lawyer senior counsel Okng’o Omogeni opposed the application saying that the petitioner had not tabled evidence to proof his allegations.
Omogeni urged the Court to dismiss the application saying that the petitioner was simply employing derailing tactic since the petition was filed.
The counsel wondered how the alleged friendship between his spouse and Raila, had anything to do with the governor's race in Kisii involving Lumumba, County Returning officer Robert Isaac Sidney and Ongwae.
He submitted that there was nothing presented to court to even confirm that he spouse is Odinga’s physician and even if he was how the same would affect the hearing of the petition.
He said that the application was simply intended to embarrass and annoy the court urging it to treat the allegations as mere hearsay.
In her ruling, Justice Omondi said that when the matter came up for directions on September 28, she called all lawyers who were present and informed them that her spouse had been an ODM senatorial candidate in both 2013 and 2017 in Nakuru.
“I did so out of abundance of caution, and to avoid theatrics and bashing which the judiciary has been lately exposed to disclose this information and asked them to raise it with their clients in the vent that anyone of their clients had any objection to me hearing the matter,” Justice Omondi said.
The Judge said that when the matter was raised, she expected a professional approach to it and not some fanciful techni-coloured stories based on guess work.
Justice Omondi said that the constitution guarantees a litigant trial by an independent and impartial court but there must be a substantive basis in making claims about likelihood of bias and not just blanket claims without a leg to stand in.
She said that the application to disqualify her had no basis and dismissed it with costs to Ongwae.
Lumumba and two others are challenging Ongwae’s victory in separate petitions.