Court disallows Evans Kidero request in poll petition

By Lucianne Limo

Nairobi, Kenya: Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero suffered a setback when a court declined to strike out an election petition filed against him.

Justice Richard Mwongo Monday directed the petition filed by former Embakasi MP Ferdinand Waititu should proceed.

He dismissed application by Dr Kidero seeking the court to strike out the petition on grounds it was not validly filed within the 28 days after gazzettment of the election results.

Mwongo said the petition was not premature and filed within time.

Ghost voters

The court also declined to allow Waititu lawyers to add extra evidence.

Waititu was Kidero’s key competitor in the Nairobi gubernatorial race in the March 4 elections.

In the petition, Waititu wants the court to order the cancellation of certificate of election issued to Kidero and his running mate Jonathan Mweke on grounds that votes from seven constituencies were illegally cast in their favour by non-existent voters.

He wants the court to order a scrutiny of votes from the constituencies to establish their validity.

Hearing is on June 25.