Karua to appeal dismissal of petition against Anne Waiguru
What you need to know:
- The notice dated November 16, 2017 indicated that the two were dissatisfied with the whole judgment.
- The judge termed the petition “hopeless, defective and incurable” for omission of vital information.
- Ms Karua was ordered to Sh10 million as the cost of the petition.
- After delivery of the judgment on Wednesday, Ms Karua declared that her battle of unseating Governor Anne Waiguru was not over.
Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua has filed a notice of appeal against a High Court judgment that dismissed her petition against Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru.
Ms Karua together with her running mate in the August 8 election Joseph Gitari, want the judgment issued by Lady Justice Lucy Gitari at the High Court in Kerugoya overturned.
The notice dated November 16, 2017, which was filed through lawyer Gitobu Imanyara, indicated that the two were dissatisfied with the whole judgment.
She named the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), County Returning Officer Seki Lempaka, Governor Waiguru and Deputy Governor Peter Ndambiri as respondents in the case.
BATTLE NOT OVER
After delivery of the judgment on Wednesday, the former Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister declared that her battle of unseating Governor Anne Waiguru was not over.
She said the August 8 election was not free and fair, arguing that it was marred by cases of voter bribery at polling stations and that her agents were barred from accessing the polling stations.
FORGERY
Ms Karua further claimed that there was forgery of the forms 37A used to transmit results from polling centres to the county tallying centre and that unauthorised persons were allowed to guard the polling stations.
In the petition, Ms Karua added that some 48,000 votes were illegally entered into IEBC’s Kiems kits in favour of Ms Waiguru.
In the disputed poll results, Governor Waiguru, a former Devolution Cabinet Secretary, garnered 161,373 votes while Ms Karua got 122,091 votes.
PETITION RULES
However, while dismissing the petition, the court said Ms Karua failed to comply with Election (Parliamentary and County) Petition Rules 2017 issued and gazetted by the Chief Justice.
The court found that the petitioner did not indicate the results of the disputed election and the date they were declared by IEBC, which is a mandatory requirement in the petition rules.
The judge termed the petition “hopeless, defective and incurable” for omission of vital information.
Ms Karua was ordered to Sh10 million as the cost of the petition.
