President Uhuru Kenyatta's cabinet nominee, John Munyes on Tuesday lost his bid for the recount of votes cast in 143 polling stations.
Mr Munyes, who was appointed as Cabinet Secretary in Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, was challenging the re-election of Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok.
High Court Judge Stephen Riechi stated that Munyes was supposed to have raised the request for the recount of the 143 polling stations early enough to enable Mr Nanok and the electoral body to respond to the issues he was raising.
The Cabinet appointee had earlier requested the scrutiny and recount for only three polling stations.
[caption caption="Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok and John Munyes"]
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The judge asserted that the law, which requires that all the contested polling stations be mentioned in the court papers within the earliest opportunity, was intended to ensure that there is no ambush on any party in the case.
“Mr Munyes had only sought scrutiny in three polling stations in his petition. No reason has been tendered to this court in the application for the expansion to 143 polling stations,” claimed Justice Riechi while dismissing the application.
The judge highlighted that allowing scrutiny in the extra 140 polling stations would be expanding the scope of the petition after Mr Nanok and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had closed their case.
Judge Riechi added that Munyes did not adduce any evidence of votes cast, the results announced and the results recorded by his agents to show any discrepancy that should be resolved by a scrutiny and recount of votes.
The judge also noted that a party who makes allegations of electoral malpractice in a polling station must be specific and provide as many particulars of the alleged malpractice as possible.
[caption caption="File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta greeting Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok and John Munyes"]
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Munyes, through his lawyer, had previously stated: "We have a very strong and a watertight case with tangible evidence and I know as Jubilee Party we will win because we believe in the rule of law and in God.”
Munyes and Nanok were the only candidates for the Turkana governorship election in the 2017 General Election on Jubilee and ODM Party tickets respectively.
Mr Nanok was declared winner having garnered 73,913 votes while Mr Munyes got 53,306 votes.
