Speaker receives Mwakwere ruling

The National Assembly Speaker has been served with a High Court certificate nullifying the election of Transport minister Chirau Mwakwere.

Mr Mwakwere was the member of Parliament for Matuga.

Mr Kenneth Marende’s office was served on Tuesday, five days after a Mombasa Court ruled that Mr Mwakwere was not validly elected in 2007.

In his ruling, the judge hearing the petition against the minister ordered the Interim Independent Electoral Commission to conduct a by-election.

Separately, Mr Mwakwere was still consulting with his lawyers on whether to appeal against the decision of the High Court. His lawyers said they were yet to receive instructions on whether to file an appeal.

On Monday, the minister said he was preparing for a by-election and that he expected to be picked by the more than 52,000 registered voters.
Mr Hassan Mwanyoha, his rival, also expressed confidence that he would win.

Returning officer Ali Maalim declared Mr Mwakwere the winner with 8,368 votes, while Mr Mwanyoha garnered 8,328 votes. Ballots from two polling stations were excluded.