Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua addressing residents in a past function. (Photo- The standard)Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua now wants the High Court sitting in Machakos to dismiss a petition filed by his competitor in August 8th general election Wavinya Ndeti, saying the petition is was fatally and irredeemably defective.
Mutua’s layers led by senior Counsel Waweru Gatonye cited failure by the petitioner comply with requirements of the rules governing election petitions.
Among the key issues raised by Mutua’s defense include failure to list Mutua’s deputy Eng Francis Maliti as a responded in the petition challenging their victory in august 8th election.
Invoking article 180 (5), the lawyers urgued that Eng Maliti was jointly elected with Dr Mutua and therefore their election was inseparable.
“Failure to join Eng Maliti renders the petition incurably and fatally defective since Article 180 (5) of the constitution mandates a County Governor to nominate a qualified person to be elected as a deputy governor,” he said.
He told the court that a Governor is legally elected enjoined with his Deputy urging that the two are inseparable, meaning that him and his deputy were elected by the same voter.
“Under the provisions of the law, the Elections Petition Rules a respondent refers to a person whose election is complained of and failure to join the deputy governor is a breach of his fundamental right to be heard as enshrined in the constitution,” he said.The Maendeleo Chap Chap Governor says that failure to enjoin his deputy in the petition as a respondent is a blatant abuse of the law.Through his team of over 15 Lawyers led by Wilfred Nyamu, Mutua also alleges the petitioner failed to comply with the provisions of Rule 8 (5) of the Petition Rules (2017) which demands that receipt of an election petition must be acknowledged by the registrar of the court.“The receipt of this petition was not acknowledged by the registrar therefore breaching the mandatory provisions of the law and as such, the same is incurably defective and must be struck out,” he said.
Wavinya’s lawyers led by Rarieda Mp Otiende Omolo fiercely fought off Mutua’s application are not substantial invoking article 159 of the constitution citing that a matter of such magnitude could not be struck out on basis of minor technicalities.Among the key issues set out for determination in the petition include whether the election in question was conducted in accordance with the constitution, and if not, whether such irregularities were substantially enough to warrant invalidation of the results.The court will also determine if the principles laid out in the constitution with regard to election of a county governor were violated. Also in focus is whether or not election offenses were committed, and if so to what extent would it affect the validity of the election results.
The case was before Justice Aggrey Muchelule and is due for determination on Friday 10th next week.
Similarly, the court is set for Monday next week to deliver a ruling on an application by Yatta Mp Charles Kilonzo seeking termination of a petition by his fierce Competitor Francis Mwangangi saying that the suit was time bad.