I sat tests for MP, man tells court

An electrical engineer impersonated a parliamentary candidate in the 2007 elections and sat the language proficiency tests for him.

Mr Martin Ndung’u Kahura told an election court on Monday that he was approached by Mr Clement Waibara to assist him obtain a proficiency test in English and Kiswahili. Mr Waibara won the Gatundu North seat in the elections.

“The MP confided to me that he had one handicap in his quest to vie for the seat. He asked me to sit for the test on his behalf,” Mr Kahura said.

He told Mr Justice Fred Ochieng’ how they went about the whole plot.

“We held many meetings with Mr Waibara at Dancing Spoon Restaurant and at his rural home. I volunteered to assist him,” the witness recounted.

The MP gave him his national identity card, which he presented to the interviewing panel of four persons headed by Ms Leah Rotich.

Before proceeding to the panel, he met one of the panelists, Mr Fredrick Iraya, at Dancing Spoon.

“Mr Iraya assured me that all is well and I should not panic or get overly worried,” he recalled.

Mr Kahura appeared before the panel at Jogoo House where he was given an essay to read in English and another one to write. He scored 23 out of 25 marks.

In the Kiswahili test, he scored 22 out of 25, the court heard.

“I was issued with a certificate having passed very well. I handed it to Mr Waibara who was waiting for me at Dancing Spoon. We proceed to Anniversary Towers and handed over the same to the chairman of the disbanded Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) Samuel Kivuitu,” the court heard.

The engineer said Mr Waibara was issued with nomination papers and went to battle it out with 15 other contestants who he defeated with a landslide.

Poll loser Patrick Muiruri produced certificates showing that the MP had scored a D-minus in English at primary school level.

Mr Muiruri said the MP dropped from many schools and never completed his secondary school education.

The hearing continues on Wednesday.