- Starehe Member of Parliament Charles Njagua Kanyi alias Jaguar got a reprieve after the High Court upheld his election.
While delivering the judgment, Justice Fred Ochieng said the petitioner, controversial businessman Steve Mbogo did not satisfy the evidentiary and legal burden of proof to show the elections were not conducted in accordance with the law.
“Having given careful considerations to all the evidence tendered, I have come to the conclusion that the elections were generally in accordance with provisions of the constitution,” said Ochieng.
Justice Ochieng further said the results of an election can only be reversed if the said election was affected by the cumulative effect of irregularities.
“The voting, counting of votes and tallying of the results were all done in accordance with the law.
He added that an electoral process is not perfect and there are bound to be some errors either of omission or of commission.
He said that the contention that the results were unlawfully and illegally transmitted from the polling stations to the tallying Centre, is not borne out from the evidence tendered by the petitioner.
Mbogo suffered another blow after being ordered to pay the respondents, Jaguar, IEBC and Philice Kayiemba who was the returning officer Sh 10 million as costs.
In the petition, Mbogo had alleged that he was assaulted by Jaguar and suggested that he might have been armed during the election time since he had worked as a director of NACADA prior to the elections.
The judge however ruled that Mbogo did not adduce any evidence to prove that Jaguar either personally or by proxy, assaulted him.
In the petition, Mbogo stated the elections were not conducted in accordanxe with the law as they were marred with irregularities.
Jaguar who vied on a Jubilee ticket won by garnering 61,262 votes against ODM’s Mbogo who got 38,294.
Mandera Senator Mohamud’s win also upheld
Elsewhere, court also upheld the election of Mandera Senator Mohamed Mohamud.
In his judgment, Justice Philip Tuiyot said that even though there were discrepancies in a few polling stations, it would not have affect the results of the election.
The petitioner, Aden Osman wanted Mohamud’s election nullified on grounds that the election was marred with irregularities.
He said that there was voter intimidation, bribery, misleading of illiterate voters and violence in Mandera during the August 8th elections.