A Nairobi-based court has blocked Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua from prosecuting Governor Anne Waiguru's chief campaigner in the 2017 General Elections.
In an application before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate, Abdul Zainab, the Narc - Kenya party leader had requested to privately prosecute James Karangara, who she accused of carrying out voter bribery during the 2017 polls.
Additionally, Karua also wanted to prosecute three Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials who presided over the Kirinyaga Gubernatorial elections.
However, the magistrate ruled that the 2017 gubernatorial aspirant failed to demonstrate that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had failed to prosecute the four.
"I find the application for private prosecution by Karua lacks merit and it's dismissed in totality," the magistrate stated.
In seeking prosecutorial powers, Karua through her lawyer, Gitobu Imanyara, stated that the malpractice during the 2017 election would go unpunished stating that was the reason why she wanted to prosecute the cases herself.
"Without a private prosecution, the injustices against the applicant at the Kirinyaga County gubernatorial elections will go unpunished and unredressed," Imanyara stated.
Karua had told the Court that Waiguru's ally had participated in voter bribery at Baricho secondary school, Kangaru, and Sagara polling stations.
This judgment by the Milimani court comes after Karua wrote to the DPP in 2018, asking the court to find Kangara culpable for the loss of video evidence that would demonstrate that he engaged in voter bribery.
However, IEBC lawyer, Julius Anyoka, faulted the application by the Narc - Kenya party leader, stating time had elapsed since the offence was committed.
He added that the alleged misconduct of the three IEBC officials was not reported to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the DPP.
"There is no evidence to the court there was commission of such offences of bribery among others," Anyoka stated.
In a ruling by the Supreme Court in August 2019, the election of Governor Anne Waiguru was upheld with the judges stating that the time provided in determining the electoral petition had elapsed.
“We still hold the position that the period provided for the settlement of electoral disputes cannot be extended by any court and we see no reason to depart from that position in this or any other case,” Justice Isaac Lenaola stated.
In 2017 polls, Waiguru garnered 161,373 votes against Karua's 122,091 votes.
