- Justice William Musyoka fixed a marathon hearing on July 27, 28, 29 and 30 to beat the six months legal timeframe for determining election petitions.
- The judge admitted Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala to the petition as an interested party on June 24.
Image: HILTON OTENYO
Image: MUSALIA MUDAVADI
The hearing of a petition challenging the election of Matungu MP Peter Nabulindo will be heard for four consecutive days starting Tuesday.
During the pretrial conference held on held on May 31, justice William Musyoka fixed a marathon hearing on July 27, 28, 29 and 30 to beat the six months legal timeframe for determining election petitions.
The hearing sessions will run from 9am to 4pm for the four days.
The petition was filed by David Were of ODM who lost in the by-election held on March 4.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declared Nabulindo winner in the polls with 14, 257 against Were's 10,565 a declaration Were has since disputed.
During the pretrial conference, Nabulindo's lead lawyer Nelson Havi, Were's lawyer Ken Nyaundi and Mini Mukele for the IEBC agreed to bring additional affidavits and statements by June 21 to set the ground for the marathon hearing.
The lawyers also agreed to have "very key" witnesses in the case to avoid dragging the matter with duplicate testimonies.
Justice Musyoka admitted Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala to the petition as an interested party on June 24.
Malala had made an application seeking to be enjoined in the matter to clear his name after Were adversely mentioned him in the petition against Nabulindo.
“The senator's role or participation in the proceedings shall be limited to the matters around allegations against him in the petition between Were, IEBC and Nabulindo,” Musyoka ruled.
Were in his petition accuses Nabulindo of hiring goons to cause mayhem during the by-election that tilted results in his favour, contrary to election laws.
“Nabulindo and a triumvirate of Senator Malala, Stanley Livondo and Joel Micah Wekesa led a band of unruly and boisterous youth who ravaged Matungu attacking and injuring voters, election officials and members of the public, in general, disrupting the voting process and scaring voters from the polling stations,” Were said in his court papers.
He cited Articles 38, 81, 82, 86, 88, 163 of the Constitution and the Elections Act to support his case.
Were said agents for majority of candidates in some of the 116 polling stations were denied entry during the voting exercise and tallying for hours while others were entirely excluded.
He named Bulimbo girls high school which served as the tallying centre where Josephat Wapereto a tallying agent, was allowed into the polling centre but denied entry into the tallying room.
He argues that Matungu returning officer John Kirui should have declared Nablindio’s election a nullity for reasons of unprecedented, unashamed, excessive and massive violence openly effected upon its officers and voters by agents and supporters of Nabulindo.
“IEBC in a manifest demonstration of submission, capitulation and weakness, permitted its officers to be abused and physically violated by supporters of Nabulindo, indicative of its abandonment and abdication of duty rendering the entire Kenyan electoral system subject to violent manipulation and abuse.”
-Edited by SKanyara