Martin Wambora, the master of survival

Is he a master of survival or just lucky? One might ask of Embu Governor Martin Nyaga Wambora.

This a man who has seen many court battles. He has lost some but in the end, it is he who finally triumphs. Wednesday was no different as the Supreme Court ruled that the governor, who is in his second term in office, was validly elected.

The top court had earlier rejected an appeal by his fierce rival Lenny Kivuti, saying the appeal did not raise issues that require application or interpretation of the Constitution.

But the judges said they only allowed the appeal by Mr Kivuti on one ground: the verifiability test.

In the decision read on behalf of the court by Justice Mohamed Ibrahim, the Judges said they sought to address the issue to put the matter into finality.

The court then set out the circumstances when an election court can order for scrutiny and recount of votes and maintained that an election court should always bear in mind that the case belongs to the petitioner.

And after considering all the submissions and arguments by all parties, it was the court’s consideration that the appeal by Mr Kivuti did not have any merit and they dismissed it.

The judges upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal, which had overturned a decision nullifying the election of Mr Wambora.

The judges said they saw no reason to interfere with the decision of the Court of Appeal.

The election of Mr Wambora had been nullified by Justice William Musyoka in February last year, saying the vote recount and scrutiny had unearthed various irregularities that compromised the integrity of the process.

But the governor moved to the Court of Appeal and Judges William Ouko, Daniel Musinga, and Fatuma Sichale said the burden of proof was not discharged by former Senator Lenny Kivuti. 

The three judges overturned the decision, saying the High Court erred in invalidating Mr Wambora’s election.

Not satisfied, Mr Kivuti moved to the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the decision.