Election favoured Magara, petitioner tells court
The Standard
Wednesday, 14th October 2009
by Robert Nyasato and Wahome Thuku
A person who seconded Trade Assistant Minister Omingo Magara for the 2007 ODM nominations for the South Mugirango seat was recruited as a presiding officer.
Mr Mason Nyamweya, who is challenging Magara’s election, told Kisii High Court, this contravenes Regulation 10 of the National Assembly Elections Act.
On Wednesday, the petitioner told Justice Daniel Musinga the disbanded ECK hired Ms Teresia Kiage, who seconded Mr Magara, as a presiding officer, and posted her to Gekong’o Primary School polling station.
"The recruitment of election officials favoured Mr Magara and was part of a wider scheme to rig the polls in his favour," he said through his lawyer Ombati Omwanza.
He said on learning most election officials were Magara supporters, he lodged a complaint with the then Gucha District Elections Co-ordinator Astariko Atika. But Mr Atika dismissed his claims.
Mr Nyamweya also claimed Returning Officer Joseph Sang’anyi was not qualified to take up the job since he was aged above 60.
The same case applied to Assistant Returning Officer Susan Obachi, who the petitioner said was hired on the influence of the MP.
The election, he said, was also marred by bribery and intimidation of voters by Magara’s supporters.
He further claimed Magara’s wife Agnes took charge of vote counting at Nduru Secondary School tallying center, after rowdy supporters of the MP disrupted the process.
Clerks ran away
By this time, the tallying clerks had fled after youths flocked the hall chanting pro-Magara slogans.
Justice Musinga will today rule as to whether a video clip taken by a journalist during the chaotic tallying will be allowed as evidence in court as demanded by Oyongo as hearing continues.
Meanwhile, the High Court has again rejected Makadara MP Dick Wathika’s application to dismiss an election petition filed against him by former MP Reuben Ndolo.
Lady Justice Kalpana Rawal dismissed the application on Wednesday, after taking over the case last month.
Lady Justice Roselyn Wendoh, who has since disqualified herself, had rejected a similar application.
But Wathika renewed it in November, following a ruling of the Court of Appeal in another election petition.
Mr Wathika, also the Public Works Assistant Minister, had argued Mr Ndolo failed to provide results of the 2007 election, making the petition incurably defective.
http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/news/InsidePage.php?id=1144026439&cid=159&
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