Court of Appeal upholds Kisii Governor James Ongwae’s win

Kisii Governor James Ongwae can breathe a sigh of relief after an appeal filed by Mr Makori Onsando challenging his victory was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in Kisumu for lack of merit.

Justice Kathurima Minoti indicated that the appellant failed to give sufficient evidence to back claims that irregularities were committed during the elections.

Mr Onsando further suffered a major setback after he was slapped with Sh4 million litigation costs, up from the Sh3 million set earlier by High Court Judge Hellen Omondi.

The judgment was delivered Thursday by Justice Minoti on behalf of a three-judge bench comprising himself, Justice Asikhe Makhandia and Justice Stephen Gatembu.

SCRUTINY REJECTED

The judges also upheld the trial judge’s decision to reject scrutiny and recount of votes.

“We cannot fault the trial judge for failing to order for scrutiny and recount. There was no basis,” said Justice Minoti.

In his appeal against Mr Ongwae’s victory, Mr Onsando had cited massive irregularities in the polls, which he argued was overlooked by the High Court.

He maintained that there was a string of electoral malpractices that compromised the outcome of the August 8, 2017 Kisii governorship poll.

During the hearing, he accused the trial judge of expunging evidence he was relying on in proving how the election was flawed.

Mr Onsando had indicated that the High Court denied him a chance to prove many irregularities that he claimed affected the elections.