Returning Officer admits errors in final tally

By Robert Nyasato

A Returning Officer who presided over the disputed 2007 Kitutu Masaba parliamentary elections admitted before an election court that there were glaring irregularities.

During cross-examination by the lawyer for the petitioner Mr Otiende Amollo, the Returning Officer Lawrence ole Sempele said the people of Kitutu Masaba can only know their true leader through a by-election.

Sempele said he declared Mr Walter Nyambati winner in exercise of authority and powers conferred on him.

 The MP, Mr Sempele and the Interim Independent Electoral Commission are respondents in the petition.

Sempele admitted that the election had glaring mistakes and Mr John Moriasi allegedly doctored Form 17A and entered wrong results in favour of the incumbent MP of the National Labour Party.

The Returning Officer told Trial Judge, Justice Asike Makhandia, that he personally announced Nyambati winner after tallying results from 139 polling stations out of 140.

Mistakes

He said on several occasions he received calls from area Commissioner Eng Samuel Maugo and officer in charge of Nyanza desk at KICC, Nairobi and had to excuse himself from the tallying hall, and suspected erroneous results might have been sneaked in.

Sempele said he declared Nyambati a winner using provisional results which indicated that he obtained 7,401 votes contrary to the MP’s affidavit which indicated that he garnered 8,150 votes.

He said a computer generated document which he used to announce the winner had numerous mistakes, adding that his juniors did not fill some form 17A.

The Returning Officer said he could have changed the results and announced the real ones but his life would have been in danger as there were jubilations outside after supporters of the MP were informed he had won.

Earlier, Sempele was cross-examined by Mr Osoro Mogikoyo for the Kitutu Masaba MP during the hearing of the election petition filed by Justus Omiti, a voter who was the ODM candidate, Mr Timothy Bosire’s chief agent.

 The witness who is a respondent in the petition said he used a calculator to counter check results presented to him by presiding officers in Form 16A before tallying them at Nyambaria High School tallying centre.

Mogikoyo drew Sempele’s attention to the Kamukunji parliamentary polls where the Returning Officer invoked his powers and declined to declare the winner because he was not satisfied with the results.