Rishad Amana banned from seeking political seat for 5 years
Lamu politician Rishad Amana. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Lamu Resident Magistrate Njeri Thuku found Amana guilty of two counts of electoral malpractice.
A Lamu court has barred politician Rishad Amana from vying for any political post in the next five years.
Mr Amana, who vied for the Lamu West Parliamentary seat in the August 8 General Election but lost, was found guilty of assault and causing disturbance at the Mokowe Constituency tallying centre.
APPEAL
Lamu Resident Magistrate Njeri Thuku found Amana guilty of two counts of electoral malpractice. But Mr Amana has the liberty to appeal against the ruling.
And when he appeals, the law obliges the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to register such a candidate until the appeal is heard and determined.
In 2013, the Supreme Court found Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula guilty of an electoral offence but referred the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for action.
Mr Wetang’ula had been found guilty of bribing voters but a special committee led by former commissioners Thomas Letangule and Mohamed Alawi and vice-chairman Lilian Mahiri-Zaja made a unanimous decision that there was no reason to remove Mr Wetang’ula’s name from the roll of voters, handing him a political lifeline.
“We find that there is no lawful justification to delete the name,” Mr Letangule said.
