[VIDEO] Bedzimba loses bid to dislodge Ali Mbogo from Kisauni seat

The High court on Monday dismissed a petition against Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo's election.

The win was challenged by Rashid Bedzimba of ODM.

Judge Erick Ogola said the people of Kisauni elected Mbogo in a free and fair contest.

He said the petitioner failed to convince the court that discrepancies and irregularities marred the August 2017 vote.

Ogola said: "If only the petitioner had proven one of the allegations against the MP, it would have warranted for a nullification of the election."

Bedzimba had accused Mbogo of voter bribery, violence, intimidation of agents, posing as an ODM candidate, and conducting secret meetings with IEBC officials.

Ogola said the former MP failed to identify which official met with the MP and where the said meeting took place.

He said the claims remained mere allegations which could not be proven.

The judge also said the petitioner ought to have adduced banners and posters showing Mbogo passing himself as an ODM candidate.

"The court is aware that ODM was one of the parties in a coalition which Mbogo's party was. They sometime campaigned together and that cannot be interpreted as passing off as a candidate of an ODM party," Ogola said.

On violence and intimidation of the petitioner's agents by police on polls day, the judge said the police acted in accordance with the law.

He said the police briefly detained the agents as they were meeting in wee-hours of the polls day and the officers thought it was a political meeting.

"However the agents were released after Bedzimba informed the police that they were agents,"he said.

Mbogo, IEBC and its official who were all respondents were awarded Sh2.5 million in costs of the petition.