Political commentator George Kithi now says the embattled Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua is likely to retain his seat after the Court of Appeal's decision to annul his August 8, 2017 re-election.
In its ruling Friday, the court quashed the High Court's earlier validation of Mutua's re-election which was disputed by his main rival in the race and former Kathiani lawmaker Wavinya Ndeti, ordering for a new election, a ruling the county chief has since vowed to challenge at the Supreme Court.
Speaking on KBC English Service on Wednesday morning, citing past instances where no petitioner has succeeded in forcing a gubernatorial re-run, Kithi noted that the Supreme Court is likely to side with Mutua but again said that another blow is not to be ruled out following a recent successful Presidential petition.
''The nation is yet to see any gubernatorial by-election so Mutua is quite safe. On the other hand, we have seen a presidential election being trashed so it's a 50-50 affair,'' Kithi said.
Mutua has since faulted the ruling, claiming that the case was poorly handled.
Speaking to the press after the ruling, the 2022 presidential hopeful maintained that his bid for the top post remains intact, relegating the annulment to a normal hurdle.