Mutua survives election petition, to govern full term

NAIROBI: Governor Alfred Mutua can now serve out the remainder of his term with confidence after the Supreme Court upheld his victory in the March 2013 General Election.

The case by Mutua's rival, Wavinya Ndeti, was Wednesday thrown out and she was further ordered to pay Sh4.5 million to the respondents as cost of litigation.

COURT RULING

In their ruling, the judges determined that the case does not meet the constitutional threshold, adding that electoral disputes must meet stipulated requirements in order for them to be heard and determined by the courts.

They noted that the case had been rejected by both the Appellate Court and the High Court because it was filed out of time, adding that the Supreme Court has to assert the Constitution's authority.

"The court is not an unregulated forum where so critical a dispute can linger for indeterminate periods of time," they ruled.

Ndeti had moved to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal upheld a decision by the High Court to throw out the election petition on grounds that it was not filed within the stipulated 30 day period.

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and Mutua had objected to the application at the Supreme Court and had filed a preliminary objection in court.

The two petitioners argued that the court has no jurisdiction to hear the case because it had been filed out of time and therefore had no merit.

FILED SUIT

Ndeti filed the suit against Mutua after the 2013 election and it was thrown out by High Court judge Justice David Majanja in September 2013.

Majanja ruled that the evidence given by Ndeti did not prove election fraud as indicated in the application.

Ndeti had alleged that Mutua was not democratically elected, arguing that there were massive electoral irregularities during the voting process that saw Mutua declared the winner.