Francis Muriithi lays out his case against MP Babu Owino's win

A Jubilee Party aspirant contesting the election of Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has said more than 20,000 votes cast had errors and that violence distorted the outcome.

While asking the court to annul the election conducted on August 8 last year, Francis Mureithi said more than 20,000 Embakasi East votes did not have the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission stamp on Forms 35A.

In his submissions before High Court Judge Joseph Sergon, the aspirant argued forms from 44 polling stations in the constituency did not have the IEBC stamp.

The judge heard a further 1,953 votes cast during the August 8 election had raised doubts as they emanated from four polling stations whose forms did not have the presiding officers’ signatures.

Other forms bearing 1,410 votes were allegedly altered without having a counter-form signed by the IEBC officials, the court heard.

At the same time, he accused Mr Owino and his agents of committing electoral offences.

He claimed the lawmaker caused violence at Soweto Social Hall, which saw Amani National Congress aspirant Joshua Obiende getting hurt.

“It is important to appreciate that the right to vote as provided in the Constitution is not intended to be merely cosmetic but is rather intended to ensure that persons entitled to vote have an opportunity to exercise their sovereignty indirectly through representatives who they elect. The violence was propagated in an electoral context and was premeditated to achieve a particular result; to prevent voters from voting,” he told the judge.

It was also claimed he intimidated the Constituency Returning Officer at the constituency tallying centre into declaring him as the winner of the election.

ELECTION OFFENCES

“The petitioner submits that following the instances of irregularities and election offenses, the said election as conducted was marred with serious election offences as stated, and this has been established through evidence led by the petitioner himself and even admitted by the respondents (Owino and IEBC) in their own responses and later in their oral evidence before the court,” he argued.

Also in contention is whether Owino voted twice.

In court, he testified that he voted in stream 28 at 9.30pm but the register by IEBC indicated that he was voter number four in stream 21.