Hearing of governorship election appeals starts

Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti. On Thursday, July 19, 2018, the Court of Appeal upheld the nullification of his election. PHOTO | BARACK ODUOR | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Awiti will have a chance to fight for his seat at the Court of Appeal after the High Court nullified his victory.
  • Former Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma is also seeking to overturn Prof Nyong’o’s victory.

Five Nyanza governors will have a second chance to fight for their positions as the hearing of appeals filed against them begins today in Kisumu.

All eyes will be trained on the Kisumu Court of Appeal during the pre-trial hearings in cases involving Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o (Kisumu), Mr Cyprian Awiti (Homa Bay), Mr James Ongwae (Kisii), Mr Okoth Obado (Migori) and Mr John Nyagarama (Nyamira).

The pre-trial hearings will be presided over by Justice Hannah Okwengu, but a three-judge bench will handle the full hearings.

Justice Okwengu will be joined by judges Jamila Mohammed and Erastus Githinji.

Election petitions involving the five governors are among 14 appeals filed by various elected leaders who are seeking to overturn High Court rulings that went against them.

FRESH ELECTION
Mr Awiti will have a chance to fight for his seat at the Court of Appeal after the High Court nullified his victory, following a successful petition by his rival and former Kasipul MP Oyugi Magwanga.

Should the appellate court uphold the High Court ruling, Mr Awiti’s chances of being subjected to a fresh election will be high.

Mr Walter Nyambati is also in a second attempt to overturn Mr Nyagarama’s win a few weeks after Justice James Makau quashed the petition filed before him in Nyamira on February 27.

In his judgment, the judge said the petitioner failed to produce evidence to support his allegations with most being based on mere suspicion.

Justice Makau said the irregularities found during the scrutiny of poll documents were insufficient to invalidate Mr Nyagarama’s victory.

EVIDENCE
But in his appeal, Mr Nyambati said the trial judge dismissed the case unfairly by failing to consider the evidence before him.

Former Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma is also seeking to overturn Prof Nyong’o’s victory.

In the appeal, Mr Ranguma has accused High Court judge David Majanja of misunderstanding his petition in the lower court.

“The trial court erred in failing to refer to and be guided by its own decision on the application by the petitioner for scrutiny and recount to the effect that a further ruling could be made by the respondents and their witnesses,” Mr Ranguma says.

In a judgment delivered on January 3, Justice Majanja dismissed Mr Ranguma’s petition for lack of evidence.

PETITION
In Migori, Mr Ochillo Ayacko is hoping to overturn Mr Obado’s win.

In Kisii, Mr Joel Onsando and Mr Francis Omao are appealing against a High Court decision to uphold Mr Ongwae’s win.

Apart from the governors, Ugenya MP Christopher Karani is pegging his hopes on the Court of Appeal to evade a fresh election after his victory was nullified following a successful petition by his predecessor David Ochieng.