Court upholds Peter Nabulindo’s victor in Matungu election
Politician Peter Nabulindo celebrates with Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala and his supporters on September 27, 2021 after the High Court upheld his election as the legislator for Matungu Constituency.
What you need to know:
The judge ruled that Mr David Were will bear the cost of the petition which stood at Sh3 million.
The High Court on Monday upheld politician Peter Nabulindo’s election as the member of Parliament for Matungu Constituency in Kakamega County.
Justice William Musyoka dismissed the petition filed by Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) candidate David Were , who lost to Mr Nabulindo of the Amani National Congress in the mini-poll held on March 4.
The judge ruled that Mr Were will bear the cost of the petition which stood at Sh3 million.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Returning Officer John Kirui and the MP will each receive Sh1 million.
Politician Peter Nabulindo celebrates with Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala and his supporters on September 27, 2021 after the High Court upheld his election as the legislator for Matungu Constituency.
Justice Musyoka said Mr Were agents, who testified during cross-examination, did not prove that they were denied access to polling stations.
“They all confirmed that they were the first persons at the stations on polling day. There is no evidence of voter intimidation and none of the witnesses indicated the occurrence of violence,” said Justice Musyoka.
The IEBC declared Mr Nabulindo the winner after he garnered 14,257 votes while Mr Were came second with 10,565. Candidate Alex Lanya of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) was third with 4,813 votes.
Mr Were disputed the outcome of the poll and challenged the results in a petition he filed at the High court.
Petitioner David Were at the High Court in Kakamega County on September 26, 2021 during the reading of the ruling in his petition against Peter Nabulindo's election as Matungu MP.
Were’s accusations
On June 24, Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala joined the case as an interested party to clear his name that was adversely mentioned (45 times) in the petition.
In his petition, Mr Were accused MP Nabulindo, Senator Malala and politician Stanley Livondo of inciting their supporters to cause violence during the vote.
The former Matungu MP claimed that a group of youths went on a rampage on voting day, attacking and injuring voters, election officials and members of the public.
He said the violence disrupted the process and scared voters away from polling stations.
Mr Were further alleged that the majority of his agents in some of the 116 polling stations were denied entry during voting and the count that followed.
Mr Were accused the returning officer of failing to nullify Mr Nabulindo’s victory on account of excessive violence allegedly unleashed against IEBC officials, voters and party agents.
Politician Peter Nabulindo celebrates with his supporters on September 27, 2021 after the High Court in Kakamega upheld his election as the legislator for Matungu Constituency.
Democratic space
After the ruling, Mr Nabulindo said Mr Were had a right to speak out against what he felt was infringing on his rights.
“I applaud the petitioner for doing what he did in a democratic space. My competitors’ received support from a sitting governor and the Deputy President but I won the by-election. Now that this matter is behind us, I will develop a new strategic plan for the people of Matungu,” he said.
Mr Malala said: “This victory signals that in next year’s poll, the ANC will emerge triumphant in the Western region. We will replicate what happened in Matungu in all the 12 sub-counties and ensure the people of Western vote six-piece for ANC candidates.”
