Hassan Omar fails to withdraw petition against Joho

Lawyer Mohammed Balala (right) on January 11, 2018 consults with Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho during the hearing of the election petition filed by former Senator Hassan Omar. They want the case to proceed. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Justice Lydia Achode said the court will strictly follow the law and rely on evidence to determine the petition.
  • The judge directed the parties to file their submissions before the next hearing of the petition.

Former Mombasa gubernatorial contender Hassan Omar has suffered a blow after the High Court declined to withdraw a petition in which he is challenging Governor Hassan Joho’s victory.

Justice Lydia Achode said the court will strictly follow the law and rely on evidence to determine the petition.

“This court notes that it is impartial and only guided by applicable laws in dealing with the petition, in addition the issue of bias had been previously addressed substantially,” she said.

The judge also dismissed an application seeking another judge to handle the case after it is withdrawn and assigned to another court as was proposed by the petitioner’s lawyers led by Yusuf Abubakar.

IEBC OBJECTS
Mr Abubakar applied to the court to allow for the withdrawal of the petition so that it can be heard in “a fresh environment” citing bias on the part of the judge.

The judge said that the grounds upon which the petitioner wants the case withdrawn are not convincing, are flimsy and cannot be entertained since the court had already noted that it was impartially handling the matter to its logical conclusion.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission through their lawyer Bridgitte Ndong opposed withdrawal of the case, saying the respondents have incurred heavy expenses pursuing the case.

“We submit that the petition be heard to its logical conclusion, the petitioners had the opportunity to explore alternative constitutional mechanisms to address issues of bias but they failed,” she said.

SUBMISSIONS
Mr Mohammed Balala - who is representing Governor Joho - opposed the withdrawal, saying the petitioners have derailed the hearing of the matter through numerous applications, which they have responded to.

“The actions of the petitioners is a conspiracy to abuse court process, there are hurdles that should be overcome before the matter is withdrawn but the same would have embarrassing consequences,” he said.

Mr Balala further urged the judge to dismiss the application, saying allowing it would have substantiated the issue of bias made by the petitioners.

The judge directed the parties to file their submissions before the next hearing of the petition.

The case will be heard on February 9.