KWALE, Kenya, Jan 26 – Two Kwale residents on Thursday suffered a major blow after a High Court dismissed a petition they have filed against Governor Fatma Achani.
Dziwe Zuma and Suleiman Mwanguku had moved to court to challenge Achani’s victory against Hamadi Boga of ODM, saying that the election had been rigged in her favour.
They had raised several issues including Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) disregarding the Constitution and relevant electoral laws in declaring her the winner.
They also claimed ODM party agents were on the Election Day denied access and chased away in some polling stations and that some of Boga’s votes were not added in the final results.
However, IEBC proved to the court that indeed the ODM party agents were present and signed the polls station diary. The petitioners also failed to prove that elections malpractices took place.
High Court Judge Francis Gikonyo said the petitioners failed to prove all their claims and were further hit with a Sh3 million charge as the cost for the petition.
Achani, who vied for the Kwale gubernatorial seat on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party of President William Ruto. She bagged 59,674 votes against her close competitor Boga who had 53,972.
Others in the election were Chai Lung’anzi (PAA), Chirau Mwakwere (Wiper), Gereza Dena (KANU) and Sammy Ruwa (independent).
About The Author
