Show how you got vote zones, Ligale ordered
Chairman of the Boundaries Commission Andrew Ligale (right) addresses a media briefing on January 18, 2010. Looking on is Commissioner Rozaah Akinyi. A High Court Judge said the commission would prove authenticity. Photo/FILE
The Ligale team has been ordered to produce in court the population figures they used to arrive at the decision to create 80 new constituencies.
High Court Judge Daniel Musinga said the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission, chaired by Andrew Ligale, would prove authenticity.
Lawyers representing the commission challenged the authenticity of the records produced by businessman John Kimanthi, who is challenging the new boundaries.
Mr Kimanthi, said the commission based their final decision to add 80 constituencies, to the current 210, on census results that were yet to be ascertained.
Through his lawyer Njenga Mwangi, the businessman argued that the commission did not follow the criteria as stipulated in the constitution.
He also told the court that the census results used by the commission were incomplete since results of eight districts were cancelled.
But lawyer Pheroze Nowrojee for the commission said Mr Kimanthi should produce the documents since he is the one challenging the decisions.
According to the lawyer, it would take some time to find the records and this may delay the case.
Justice Musinga however said the hearing would proceed regardless of whether the documents were produced or not.
“In case the documents are not available, then the court will make a ruling one way or another,” said the judge.
The judge made the decision after declaring that the population records produced by the petitioner appeared questionable as it only had results of 207 constituencies instead of the total 210.
The government through the Ministry of planning and Development released census results without figure from eight districts which were cancelled.
The ministry also declared the results as provisional and the same is yet to be ascertained.
The petitioner argued that the commission ought to have considered population trends, geographical features and community interests.
Mr Kimanthi said none of this was followed and accused commission of not consulting with the public before making the decisions.
The commission said it followed the correct procedure.
