Supreme Court upholds Kirinyaga Governor’s victory

Kirinyaga Governor Anne Mumbi Kamotho addresses journalists at the Supreme Court.

Kirinyaga Governor Anne Mumbi Kamotho can now rest easy after the Supreme Court upheld her victory in last year's election.

In the ruling that was read by Justice Isaac Lenaola, the judges faulted the Appellate Court saying it erred since the proceedings before the High Court were null as the 60-day period in which the appeal should be concluded had already lapsed.

The judges further directed that each party should bear costs of the proceedings at the High Court, Appellate Court and the Supreme Court.

Karua was challenging Governor Anne Mumbi’s victory over claims that the elections conducted by Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was not free and fair.

She claimed that her agents were barred from accessing polling stations, she also cited allegations of bribery and canvassing.

The case was first dismissed by the Kerugoya High Court in June 2018 on grounds that it lacked merit and Judge Lucy Gitari ordered Karua to pay costs amounting to Sh5million.

This prompted her to move to the Court of Appeal. She protested ruling by the court in Kerugoya, saying it was not fair.

In December 2018, the appellate court also upheld Waiguru’s victory, saying Karua failed to convince the court that she suffered prejudice when IEBC failed to produce the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIMS) kit.

Resilient Karua then vowed to proceed to the Supreme Court.

“Appeal dismissed with no order as to costs. I am headed to the Supreme Court to exhaust the justice chain,” she tweeted.

Karua indicated that she was dissatisfied by the decision of the two courts to uphold Waiguru’s win.

The notice filed through lawyer Gitobu Imanyara dated December 28 and was received at the registry on December 31, 2018.

Governor Anne Mumbi Kamotho on the other hand defended her victory saying the position was not given to her on a silver platter.

She said after grueling campaigns Kirinyaga residents evaluated her alongside other competitors for the gubernatorial seat on August 8, 2017 General Election and came out with a resounding yes to her leadership.

“It is unfortunate now that some people who have different constitutional mandates have started to undermine my leadership instead of sticking to their roles,” she said.