Juja MP to know fate

Juja MP George Thuo. He lost his Parliamentary seat after a judge ruled that the credibility of the results were in doubt on April 16, 2010. Photo/FILE

What you need to know:

  • Mr Thuo has asked the court to dismiss the petition saying it was full of hearsay.

Juja residents will Friday know whether George Thuo will continue to represent them in Parliament.

In a ruling to be delivered this morning, Justice Luka Kimaru will either nullify the election of Mr Thuo as Juja MP or dismiss the petition filed by former legislator William Kabogo.

During the hearing, Mr Thuo who is also the government’s chief whip asked the court to dismiss the petition saying it was full of hearsay.

He said the petition did not have evidence to prove fraud and collusion between him and election officials in the December 2007 polls as alleged by Mr Kabogo.

He also said Mr Kabogo should not be allowed to benefit from his mistakes since there was evidence that he bribed voters even during the polling day.

His sentiments were shared by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), which said some of Mr Kabogo’s allegations seemed to be an afterthought.

While asking the Judge to dismiss the case, the electoral body said that some mistakes admitted by the returning officer during the hearing of the case were human and were anticipated by law.

In reply, Mr Kabogo maintained that the elections in Juja were not free and fair. The former MP said that what had happened was an “act of electoral burglary”.