High Court nullifies election of Embu Governor Martin Wambora

Victory nullified: Embu Governor Martin Wambora. [File picture]

The Embu High Court has nullified the election of Governor Martin Wambora on the grounds that that it was marred with irregularities which undermined the electoral process.

“There is no doubt that the errors affected the final outcome of the election. I have come to the conclusion that there were irregularities and errors during the counting and tallying of votes. The results cannot be said to be credible, verifiable and reflecting the will of the people of Embu,” ruled Justice William Musyoka.

He ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to conduct a fresh election in accordance with law.

Judge Musyoka directed Wambora and Embu County IEBC Returning Officer Daniel Lenarum to pay the petitioner Sh3 million.

The Embu Governor through Lawyer Ahmednassir has vowed to appeal High Court’s order quashing his win.

Kivuti, who got 96,775 votes against Wambora’s 97,760, filed petition after the August 8, 2017 election insisting the poll was not free and fair.

Before the case challenging his win could kick off, Wambora filed an urgent application seeking to strike out the petition by Kivuti.

Wambora claimed ballot papers had been tampered with and could not be relied upon in the hearing and determination of the petition.

Kivuti had earlier applied to have the ballot papers and KIEMS data secured to prevent interference. The court had ordered that all the election materials be put in safe custody and further directed all the parties to put their seals on the ballot boxes to prevent tampering.

Wambora, through his lawyer Kithinji Marete, argued that Kivuti, while implementing the court order, tampered with the materials.

The ruling comes after the court ordered a recount, scrutiny and examination of the votes on January 18, 2018 to verify the authenticity of the results declared by the IEBC after the August 8 general elections.

Wambora is no stranger to titanic legal and political battles. In 2015 he survived impeachment by the Embu County Assembly in a battle that rocked the Senate. Read: Appeal Court nullifies Wambora's impeachment.