Court to rule on Wajir governor's poll appeal today

Wajir Governor Mohamed Abdi. His election was nullified. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Abdi argued that the High Court misinterpreted the law and ignored crucial evidence when nullifying his election.

Wajir Governor Mohamed Abdi will know whether he can relax or prepare for another court battle when the Court of Appeal decides on his case against the High Court’s decision to nullify his election.

Mr Abdi’s election was nullified by Justice Alfred Mabeya on January 12 on the grounds that the election had not been conducted according to the law, and that his academic papers were not proper since Mr Abdi did not have a genuine degree.

But in his appeal, Mr Abdi argued that the High Court misinterpreted the law and ignored crucial evidence when nullifying his election.

Through Senior Counsel Fred Ngatia, Mr Abdi argued that Justice Mabeya misunderstood the law and had bypassed key evidence when invalidating his election.

Mr Ngatia told the Court of Appeal judges that Justice Mabeya had focused on unsubstantiated claims that the governor lacked a valid university degree, claiming no evidence was presented to prove it.

He added that Justice Mabeya had lowered the legal standard of proof in concluding that the governor’s degree was invalid without having demanded evidence meeting the required legal threshold.