Candidate ordered to pay Sh1.4m after losing poll petition

Omondi Gwonyo who had vied on an ODM ticket was dealt a blow after the court threw out his case. [iStockphoto]

A Migori court has slapped a hopeful who vied for the West Kanyamkago MCA seat in the August 9 election with Sh1.4 million in costs after he lost a petition he had filed against Peter Mijungu.

Omondi Gwonyo who had vied on an ODM ticket was dealt a blow after the court threw out his case.

Chief Magistrate Dickson Onyango dismissed claims that the exercise had been marred with irregularities and said the election was conducted in accordance with the Constitution and electoral laws.

Gwonyo had listed Mijungu who ran with an independent ticket, IEBC and Uriri Sub-County's Returning officer as the respondents in the case.

He cited irregularities including violence, intimidation, voters bribery and attack of his agents.

"There was an organised scheme by the first respondent and the second and third respondents to rig the elections in West Kanyamkago," Gwonyo said in his statement to the court.

The ODM candidate claimed there were irregularities in five voting centers. He told the court that some 1,387 votes could not be accounted for.

According to him, the disparity had an impact on the outcome of the elections. According to the petitioner's witnesses, a voter at Konduru polling station lost his life after chaos erupted. The court said despite the violence, irregularities and offences alleged, the results were still valid.