Mutua Appeals Election Nullification in Supreme Court

Alfred Mutua has moved to the supreme court seeking to overturn the decision of the Court of Appeal nullifying his election as Machakos Governor.

The embattled Governor maintained that he had won the election fairly and the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had conducted the polls in accordance with the Constitution.

In his appeal, Mutua noted that the court erred in paying undue attention to procedural technicalities thereby overturning justice in accordance with Article 159 (2)(d) of the constitution.

[caption caption="Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua during court proceedings in February"][/caption]

“The judges of the Court of Appeal contradicted themselves by admitting the appeal based on the need of substantive justice and proceeding to nullify the election based on technicalities,” he stated.

“The learned Judges of the court also erred in law by failing to balance the constitutional right to vote and or elected and the right to have verifiable election where the results are accurately collated in accordance under Articles 81 and 86,” the document notes.

After the mentioning of the case, the deputy registrar of the court directed that the file should be forwarded to the Deputy Chief Justice for further review and consideration.

On June 8, Justice William Ouko ruled that the election results announced by the returning officer could not be verified.

“Machakos Gubernatorial elections declared by the returning officer failed the constitutional test and cannot be verified,” Justice Ouko stated.

He further ordered the IEBC to conduct a free and fair election in the county.

In February, the High Court upheld Mutua’s election, rendering Wavinya Ndeti’s attempt to oust him unsuccessful.

[caption caption="Former Machakos gubernatorial candidate Wavinya Ndeti"][/caption]