BY SAM ALFAN.
I won the election free and fair, MP Babu Owino has told court.
The Embakasi East Member of Parliament Paul Ongili alias Babu Owino also told the court that the election was largely peaceful, “there was no violence.”
Babu also asked Justice Joseph Sergon to dismiss the election petition by Francis Mureithi who ran on a Jubilee ticket.
He denied allegations that he attacked a contestant Joshua Obiende of ANC.
“I did not see Obiende at the polling station and there were more than 56 police officers who would not allow any violence,” he said.
He said that comparing his body size with that of Obiende, it was impossible for him to push him down.
Owino also said he knew Obiende was disqualified in ODM nominations after he was found with criminal records having jailed with robbery with violence in Kisumu.
When asked by his lawyer if he saw Obiende with the wound in his face, Owino said he has a condition of collapsing as he once collapsed at a campaign rally.
Owino added that he raised issue with the returning officer who he claimed had lost his certificate.
“I had issues with Nicholas Butuk who after announcing me as the winner, said he could not find my certificate as it was in custody of his personal assistant and that she had been arrested”, he said.
The court was also told that Butuk insisted that his PA was in Embakasi police station and asked Owino to call the OCS to release him since she was the only person who had keys to the store where it had been kept.
“Luckily the OCS who was at the tallying centre called the station and confirmed that there was no such person being held at the station and the RO was lying, that was when i became impatient and demanded for my certificate”, he added.
He said Butuk’s assistant is the one who handed the certificate to him.
Owino said he was impatient because he could not understand why the MCA had been announced and handed the certificate and not him.
Owino also denied claims that he bribed voters and said that he knows it is an election offence where he would have been arrested if indeed he bribed.
On Tuesday Butuk said Babu became impatient when he misplaced a form, but announced him as the winner.
“During the final stage of the tallying, I realised that Form 35c, which is used to declare the winner, was missing.
“I had to look for it, however, Babu Owino got impatient and went crazy. Butuk said he noted an error in the final tally, which was a result of wrong tallying.”
