Down but not out: NASA and Jubilee poll losers file petitions against colleagues

Former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar during a briefing in Mombasa County. (Photo: Kelvin Karani/Standard)

Jubilee and NASA pre-election sibling rivalries have found their way to courts of law by way of petitions.

Among the petitions against the election of 24 governors includes the one by former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar.

Omar has filed a matter against Governor Ali Hasan Joho election, which is viewed as an extension of their bitter rivalry within the NASA family.

During the August 8 election, both Joho (ODM) and Omar (Wiper) belonged to NASA coalition. Both campaigned for the opposition's presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Kalonzo Musyoka.

Omar, who has quit Wiper and by extension NASA, claims ballots were stuffed among other irregularities to secure a win for Joho.

Omar’s recent utterances have also implied that Kalonzo was closer to Joho than him and alleged the Wiper leader did not support him to win the ethnic Akamba vote in Mombasa.

Interestingly, he wants to rely on the Supreme Court findings and declaration in the case featuring Raila Odinga against President Uhuru Kenyatta, IEBC and Chairman Wafula Chebukati to nullify Joho’s victory, on grounds that he was rigged out.

"I want this honorable court to order the scrutiny and vote recount of all ballot votes cast in all polling stations, the KIEMS kit, print and the manual register used in the election," said Omar.

Last week Omar took a swipe at Wiper officials saying they could not accuse him of failing to deliver seats for the party in Mombasa because the party had performed badly even in its Ukambani strongholds.

It is only last week when Omar resigned from the position of Secretary General at Wiper Party.

In the Mombasa polls, he was third with 44,000 votes behind Jubilee's Suleiman Shahbal and ODM's Hassan Ali Joho.

In Kirinyaga, the iron lady of Kenya's politics Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua has moved to court to challenge the election of Governor Anne Waiguru in an unrelenting battle for supremacy between the two.

Both campaigned for the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.

Karua now wants Chief Justice David Maraga to constitute a three-judge bench to hear her petition.

"Since the Supreme Court nullified the presidential elections on September 1 the same should apply across the board," says Karua through her lawyer Gitobu Imanyara.

''The malpractice , irregularities and other related issues cited in the Raila Odinga's successful petition that led to the nullification of the election of president Uhuru Kenyatta applies from the MCAs, Senators, MPs, Woman Representatives to Governors hence I want Waiguru's election nullified," she told the court.

Karua has accused Waiguru of voter bribery, intimidation of her agents at polling stations, rigging and vote alterations that led to her losing of the election.

In Embu County former senator Lenny Kivuti of the Jubilee-friendly Mandeleo Chap party has petitioned against the election of Governor Martin Wambora (Jubilee).

The two have been fighting since 2013 with no end in sight.

In the battle for the National Assembly, former Embakasi MP ODM's Irshad Sumra challenged the election of Musili Mawathe (Wiper) in court.

Mawathe was declared winner after garnering 33,880 against Sumra's 33,708.

Sumra now wants a recount.

Closer in Ruaraka, the battle for the ODM ticket that led to the sibling rivalry between former nominated senator Elizabeth Ongoro now in ANC and the MP T.J. Kajwang has moved to court.

In Mandera, Hassan Noor (EFP) has filed a petition against Governor Ali Roba (Jubilee).

The party was one of the affiliates of Jubilee clan rivalry seems to have driven a wedge between the two.

In Wajir County, KANU and Jubilee have locked horns over the senate seat. Adow Mohammed Abikar (KANU) has filed a petition against Senator Abdullahi Ibrahim Ali (Jubilee).