Voter appeals verdict on Hassan Joho degree case
A voter who had challenged the academic qualifications of Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho in court but lost the case has now filed a notice of appeal.
Mr Silas Otuke filed the notice on Friday afternoon and intends to appeal the decision of a three-judge bench that struck off his petition on the grounds that it was an abuse of the court process.
“Take notice that the petitioner herein being dissatisfied with the ruling of the court delivered on October 16, 2014 intends to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the whole of the decision,” the notice states.
Mr Otuke filed the petition last year, claiming that Mr Joho was never a holder of a degree certificate from any recognized university and therefore did qualify to be the governor of any county in the country.
He further alleged that Mr Joho and his deputy, Ms Hazel Ogunde, obtained their nomination from the electoral body through fraudulent means.
In his supporting affidavit, Mr Otuke, a former chairman of the Kenya Students Council in Uganda, alleged that Mr Joho had never been a student of Kampala University in 2011 thereby disputing his business administration degree he had obtained from the institution.
IMMATURE PETITION
But justices Christine Meoli, Edward Muriithi and Martin Muya, who read the judgment two weeks ago, declared the petition immature, saying the petitioner ought to have followed the correct procedure while filing the case.
However, the judges noted, the petitioner could still pursue the case through other means but not through a constitutional petition such as the one he filed.
“The petitioner is entitled to approach the court subject to applicable requirements of the Constitution,” the judges said.
In their decision, the judges said that since the petition was alleging acts of a criminal nature against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Mr Otuke ought to have sought redress from other institutions such as the Criminal Investigations Departments or the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
They added that before the case could be heard, it was important for the allegations brought against IEBC of aiding and abetting serious criminal offences to be investigated.
The IEBC was accused of conspiring when it proceeded to issue a nomination certificate to the Mr Joho while there were allegations of fraud.
