WIN FOR MAKUENI GOVERNOR JUNIOR AS COURT REJECT PRAYER FOR SCRUTINY AND RECOUNT OF VOTES CAST.

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Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior with his lawyer Kethi Kilonzo leaving Makueni High Court.

BY SAM ALFAN.

Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior has scored a huge victory after the High Court dismissed an application by his rival seeking a scrutiny and recount of votes cast in the August 9, gubernatorial polls.

Justice Joseph Onyiego dismissed the application by Patrick Musimba, which also sought an audit of equipment used by the electoral body during the polls.

The judge rejected the bid saying the application by the former Kibwezi West MP did not meet the threshold for grant of the orders sought.

“The petitioner has not met the necessary threshold to warrant an order for scrutiny. Accordingly, the application dated 8th September is hereby dismissed,” ruled Judge Onyiego.

Judge Onyiego observed that the order seeking scrutiny touching on all rejected votes in all 1,130 pulling stations was too broad and there was no specific complaints raised in respect to any specific station.

“To engage in a recount exercise in the entire county is too much to bite with the limited resources at hard. It is not the duty of the court to play the role of the IEBC post-election,” said the Judge.

Musimba came a distant third in the race won by Mutula Kilonzo Junior to become Makueni county’s second governor.

Through his lawyer Kethi Kilonzo, Junior vehemently opposed Musimba’s application arguing that the prayer was generalized and a clear fishing expedition with no mention of specific pulling stations and where no basis exists.

Kilonzo told the election court that Musimba application for scrutiny is founded on misunderstanding of the role of technology in the gubernatorial elections.

She said the technology deployed by the IEBC was only to be used for voter identification and not for transmission of elections results for Governor, Senator, Women representative, Members of Parliament and members of county Assembly elective post.

“That Form 37As in the Governor elections were transmitted electronically but rather transmission was done physically by delivery of the relevant Form to the constituency Tallying centres hence nothing to scrutiny,” lawyer Kethi Kilonzo submitted.

She dismissed claims that smartphones were used during the election process adding that smartphones were neither used in relation to gubernatorial election nor was any provided by the IEBC. She urged the court to decline such orders.

IEBC supported the Governor’s application and urged court to dismiss orders sought by Musimba on production of Form 32A with regard to Makueni County. 

“Touching on production of all Forms 32A with respect to Makueni County the deponent stated that they cannot be produced as they have not been returned from the supreme court where they were taken for scrutiny exercise in the president elections,” said the commission.

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