Wiper MP loses seat in election petition

 

Mr Stephen Mutinda Mule (C).  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By NATION CORRESPONDENT

A Wiper MP lost his seat after the High Court ruled he was not validly elected in the March 4 polls.

Lady Justice Lilian Mutende, in her judgment delivered at the High Court in Machakos, said the polls in which Mr Stephen Mutinda Mule who contested the Matungulu seat on a Wiper ticket was declared winner, were not free and fair.

Petitioners Thomas Malinda Musau, Stephen Ndambuki Muli, John Makenzi and former MP Moffat Maithya filed a petition against Mr Mule soon after the General Election. The trial took four months.

The petitioners had complained that their agents were not allowed in the tallying centres and in some cases polling stations were opened late and closed early, hence denying their supporters their constitutional rights of voting.

Mr Maithya testified that he was forced out of the tallying centre despite being a candidate in the polls.

During the trial, the court ordered a recount of the votes which still placed Mr Mule (pictured) in the lead with more than 2,262 votes.

But Justice Mutende said irregularities in the polls were enough to make her conclude that the elections were not free and fair in the Machakos County constituency.

She directed that only a by-election could help address the issues raised.

Campaign for Cord

Mr Mule, who was represented by lawyer Priscilla Kioko, said he would appeal against the ruling.

He read politics in the judgment, saying he was being punished for vigorously supporting the Wiper course and cited his recent campaign for Cord against the Jubilee coalition in the Makueni senate by-election won by Wiper’s Mutula Kilonzo Junior.

Two weeks ago Mavoko MP Patrick Makau breathed a sigh of relief after the High Court dismissed an election petition challenging his election.