Court to rule on vote scrutiny report in governor’s election

By ERIC ABUGA

Migori, Kenya: The court is set to rule on a report on scrutiny of votes in an appeal contesting the election of Migori Governor Okoth Obado.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Kisii yesterday said it would deliver its ruling on whether the report prepared by the Homa Bay Deputy Registrar Paul Mayova would be expunged from the appeal proceedings.

The ruling is to be delivered on February 7 in Nairobi and the matter heard before Court of Appeal in Kisumu on February 12.

The report which appellate judges Justice Erastus Githinji, Onyango Otieno and Daniel Musinga are to rule on touches on the scrutiny of votes that was ordered by Homa Bay High Court Judge Esther Maina.

Yesterday, Obado through his lawyer Rodger Sagana, told the bench that they were not given an opportunity to go through the deputy registrar’s report on the errors discovered during the scrutiny and re-tally exercise order by the Homa Bay judge.

Sagana told the judges that the deputy registrar failed to give them the report in raw or typed form upon request and instead directed them to pick the proceedings from the judge.

“I pray that you allow the application because if the registrar’s report will form part of the appeal, then it will be prejudicial,” Sagana said.

The petitioner Edward Oyugi, through his lawyer Stephen Mwenesi, told the court to dismiss the application, saying that the registrar’s report was part and parcel of the proceedings.

“My Lords there is no way the registrar’s report can be excluded from the appeal because it was part and parcel of the proceedings,” said Mwenesi.