Kakamega High Court Judge Juma Chitembwe dismissed a petition filed by businesswoman Marble Muruli/FILE
Kakamega High Court Judge Juma Chitembwe dismissed a petition filed by businesswoman Marble Muruli on grounds that there was no evidence to convince him to nullify the election.
The judge also dismissed the second case by Muruli which was alleging that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission failed to include her name on the ballot paper for the gubernatorial election.
“It’s clear that since the petitioner was not one of the candidates, she had no agents in the polling stations, there being no complaint from those who participated in the election, the election was free and fair and no election malpractices were reported to the police,” ruled Justice Chitembwe.
The judge said that the petitioner who wanted to contest the election as an independent candidate presented her nomination papers late.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) which was named as the fourth respondent in this case was ordered to pay costs totalling Sh5 million.
“The fourth respondent led the signing of the consent and is to blame for the filing of this petition; I do find that the 4th respondent should bear the costs of this petition. The cost is assessed at a cost of Sh5 million to be shared equally between the petitioners on the one hand and the first and the second respondent on the other hand,” ordered Justice Chitembwe.
Muruli filed the case seeking the nullification of Oparanya’s win on grounds that her name was not on the ballot even after the High Court in Nairobi ruled that her name be on the ballot.
She urged the court to order fresh gubernatorial elections in Kakamega County since Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declined to clear her to contest in the March 4th elections despite a court order directing the electoral body to do so.
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