Wetang’ula fights to save political career in spirited defence
What you need to know:
On Tuesday, the DPP declined to appear before the committee insisting his earlier verdict that there was no sufficient evidence against the Senator still stood.
Wetang’ula's legal team led by Siaya Senator James Orengo is hopeful contradictions in two reports by the DCI would help sway the verdict in favour of their client.
Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula was on Tuesday fighting to save his political career in a spirited defence to prevent his name from being struck off the voters’ register for committing an election offence.
Mr Wetang’ula appeared before a special committee of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and pleaded that he had been punished enough for the offence by being “dragged through the mud of an electoral cycle” and that delisting him would be “against natural justice”.
His lawyers, on the other hand, fought a report of the Supreme Court which sought to have him struck off the roll of voters.
His co-principal in Cord Raila Odinga, several senators and MPs spent the whole day with him in court as the IEBC team, chaired by Commissioner Thomas Letangule, gave him a hearing on the politically explosive case.
Mr Odinga, who later addressed supporters outside the Milimani Law Courts called on the IEBC to uphold justice, claiming the issue is largely political and meant to destroy the opposition ahead of the 2017 elections.
“We are happy with the way our lawyers have handled this matter today. We expect the IEBC to deliver a fair verdict that will respect Mr Wetang’ula’s political rights as enshrined in our Constitution,” Mr Odinga said.
He added: “We know it’s a ploy to get rid of Mr Wetang’ula so we can remain with Kalonzo (Musyoka) ahead of 2017 but we are promising Jubilee a bruising battle.”
Mr Wetangula told the committee he had suffered too much over the same matter and pleaded for justice. “Striking me out of the register would be against the rules of natural justice,” he argued.
He said he feels he has already been punished by the litigation.
“No politician in this country, since independence has been dragged through the mud of an electoral cycle the way I have,” said Mr Wetang’ula.
“And if it is going to be crowned by taking away my rights to vote, to be voted for or to do anything attendant to being a voter or to be voted for will be, to say the least, the height of inexplicable and unjustifiable injustice to any individual,” the senator argued.
He argued that the order by a lower court that he be disqualified from taking part in future elections had been quashed and that no revision had been made on the matter by subsequent rulings.
Mr Wetang’ula’s political future which will be known before January 20 when the committee rules on the matter appeared hinged on legal technicalities and an exonerating report from the Director of Criminal Investigations.
His legal team led by Siaya Senator James Orengo is hopeful contradictions in two reports by the DCI would help sway the verdict in favour of their client.
Tuesday, the DPP declined to appear before the committee insisting his earlier verdict that there was no sufficient evidence against the Senator still stood.
On Monday Mr Keriako Tobiko wrote to IEBC boss Ahmed Issack Hassan and supplied 15 copies of letters and investigation reports on the Senator’s case. The DPP asked IEBC to rely on the same in making its own deductions and seek the legal opinion from the Attorney General where there was insufficiency of legal opinion.
“I have reflected on your revised request and still hold firm view that it would be inappropriate for me to appear before the committee and offer any opinion in regard to the matter as requested,” he said in a letter dated January 11, 2016.
Among the documents supplied to the IEBC by the DPP was a letter dated November 20, 2013 from the DCI forwarding investigations file to DPP with findings that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to hold anyone criminally liable in respect of the alleged offences and recommending closure of the file.
The report signed by a Mr Harrison Meeme on behalf of the DCI, said: “In view of the above, evidence so far available is not sufficient to hold any person criminally liable in respect to the offences of bribery of voters and treating voters contrary to section 62 and 64 of the elections Act respectively.”
When the DPP received the report he responded: “I concur with your findings and conclusions that there is no evidence, disclosed sufficient to sustain a criminal charge.”
