The High Court on Friday passed a ruling upholding Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua's victory in the August 8 election in a case that was filed by Wiper gubernatorial candidate Wavinya Ndeti.
Issuing the ruling, Justice Aggrey Muchelule ordered Ms Ndeti to pay costs amounting to Sh5 Million to Governor Mutua and an equal amount to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
He stated that the petitioner had failed to furnish the court with proof of any irregularities or illegalities that she claimed to have happened during the contested polls.
The Judge explained that many of Ms Ndeti's witnesses had failed to appear in court to defend their claims. He added that the claims of voter bribery, forgery and coercion were not backed by documents or video evidence, therefore, could not be admissible in the court.
He further justified his decision by citing precedents set by the courts that outlined that an election could not be nullified based on few irregularities due to human error.
[caption caption="Governor Alfred Mutua during court proceedings on February 9, 2018"]
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Ms Ndeti had also sought to have the court find that the Governor was not qualified to vie for the position and that he had irregularly appointed county officials appointed as clerks during the polls.
The court proceedings had been marred by dramatic events that, at one point, provoked Governor Mutua's lawyers to walk out of the courtroom in protest.
Justice Muchelule had declined to grant the lawyer more time to peruse applications that had been submitted by the petitioners.
Dr Mutua's attempts to have the case dismissed proved futile on many occasions during the court proceedings. Mutua argued that the filed applications had glaring errors including omitting the name of his deputy governor.
Justice Muchelule, however, granted Ms Wavinya's application to have the IEBC present all the election materials used during the August 8 election.
Former Kathiani Member of Parliament Wavinya Ndeti took the Governor to court soon after the August 8 election claiming that he had "stolen her votes".
[caption caption="Former Kathiani MP Wavinya Ndeti during court proceedings on February 9, 2018"]
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