The Court of Appeal has nullified the election of Julius Mawathe as the member of parliament for Embakasi south on a Wiper party ticket. The successful petition was filed by Irshad Sumra of ODM who appealed a ruling by high court decision that upheld the win.
Court of Appeal judges cited various irregularities and concluded the Embakasi South poll was not free and fair.
The Court of Appeal on Friday quashed Mr Mawathe’s August 2017 election win following an appeal lodged by his rival Irshad Sumra of the Orange Democratic Movement.
Mr Mawathe was declared the winner of the poll after IEBC said he garnered 33,880 against Mr Sumra’s 33,708 votes.
In his petition, Mr Sumra blamed the electoral commission for his defeat, saying the Returning Officer “declared the loser as the winner and the winner the loser.”
Mr Sumra cited malpractices, irregularities, illegalities and or noncompliance of the law, which he argued had an effect on the results announced.
The court agreed with him that that there was a serious mix-up of votes during counting at some tallying centres.
Mr Sumra moved to the second-highest court in the land after the High Court on March 2 upheld the election of Mr Mawathe.
While dismissing Mr Sumra case, Justice Grace Nzioka said the petitioner failed provide sufficient evidence and slapped him with Sh3-million invoice in costs.
ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna welcomed the ruling and exuded confidence that Sumra would win in the by-election.
“We the @TheODMparty family are elated this morning following annulment of the Embakasi South Parliamentary elections following a successful appeal by Hon. Sumra. We hope that the will of the people shall prevail when the by-election is held,” Sifuna posted on Twitter.