ODM aspirant seeks to block ex-MP’s nomination

By Isaiah Lucheli

Kisii, Kenya: The drama surrounding Controversial nominations is far from over as an aggrieved Nyatike Constituency parliamentary aspirant went to court and filed a constitutional petition to challenge Independent  Electoral Boundaries Commission and the returning officer Nyatike Constituency for having declined to accept his nomination papers.

Tom Mboya Odege wants IEBC to be compelled to accept his papers saying his rival, the immediate former Member of Parliament Edick Omondi Anyanga presented forged certificate which the IEBC accepted and Anyanga was then listed as the parliamentary nominee in the ODM ticket.

Odege blames the IEBC and the returning officer Moses Daula for having cleared his rival who presented forged documents yet he was the rightfully nominated aspirant.

High court judge Justice David Majanja sitting on Tuesday referred the matter to the IEBC since it is a dispute arising from nominations before elections, which the IEBC is mandated to resolve.

Odege's lawyer Gilbert Owade also presented to the judge a sworn affidavit from ODM's national elections board chairman Frankline Bett denying that the party ever issued Anyanga with any nominations certificate.

In the affidavit, Bett claims the only candidate recognized by the party is Odege, raising suspicions on to where his competitor acquired a certificate which IEBC used to clear him.

"I do swear this affidavit in confirmation of the fact that the duly nominated ODM candidate to contest the seat in the constituency is Tom Mboya Odege. I believe that the said Omondi Anyanga presented to the IEBC for purposes of clearance then the same is a forgery, fraudulently and illegally obtained and must not be used or relied on such a constitutional process"

Cases of forged nomination certificates which were accepted and cleared by the IEBC also affects six county assembly nominees in Nyatike Constituency.