Issa Timamy fails to unseat Fahim Twaha in Lamu

Lamu Governor Fahim Yasin Twaha is congratulated on his win c

Former Lamu Governor Issa Timamy has lost an appeal seeking to unseat his successor Fahim Twaha at the apex court.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed Mr Timamy’s appeal citing lack of merit.

Mr Timamy had asked the top court in the land to nullify the election of Mr Twaha, arguing there were irregularities unearthed by the partial scrutiny of election results.

But Mr Twaha said the claims were not substantiated.

In the end, the judges ruled that all grounds of appeal were baseless and dismissed the case.

Although the judges said they had jurisdiction to hear the appeal, they ruled that all the grounds raised by Mr Timamy lacked basis.

In a decision read on behalf of the court by Justice Mohamed Ibrahim, the judges said they did not see any error on the part of Court of Appeal when it dismissed the case.

The judges ruled that all grounds of appeal were baseless and it was their view that the election was conducted in accordance with election rules and the Constitution.

The court, at the same time, dismissed an appeal by Mr Mohamud Ali, who lost the Changamwe constituency seat to Omar Mwinyi.

Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi (centre) at the Supreme Court in Nairobi on February 6, 2019. He survived the appeal. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO |NATION MEDIA GROUP

In the decision read by Justice Njoki Ndung'u, the court said although there were irregularities in the election, they were not substantial to affect the outcome of the poll.

The court said the will of the voters of Changamwe prevailed  during the August 8, 2017 poll.