MP Leo Wa Muthende Win Challenged In Court
President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party has suffered a setback after two voters filed a petition challenging the victory of the party's candidate, Leo Wa Muthende, in the Mbeere North by-elections.
The two voters filed a petition in court on Thursday, December 4, seeking the revocation of Wa Muthende's win and a fresh election to be conducted.
In their application, the two petitioners demanded the nullification of Wa Muthende's win due to reports of irregularities, further noting that the newly elected MP was not a registered voter.
The petitioners noted that the Kenyan law demands that a person must be a duly registered voter to be eligible to run for a political seat.
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They also argued that, before the November 27 by-elections, Wa Muthende had changed his name from Leonard Muriuki Njeru to Leo Wa Muthende Njeru.
They alleged that the change was not updated on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) register.
According to them, the Commission's move to declare Wa Muthende the winner in the mini-polls, yet his name was not accurate on the electoral roll, rendered the polls unlawful.
The petition comes two days after Wa Muthende noted that he was prepared to defend his win in court should his competitors move there, maintaining that his win was legitimate.
They want to go to court; my lawyer is very ready. In fact, I am the one who should go to court. I have evidence of them bringing violence during the by-election," Wa Muthende stated.
He added, "There are no ground rules I violate. I am going to source all my evidence from the media. I am the one with the right to go to court."
The latest update comes a week after the UDA candidate won after receiving 15,802 votes, against the Democratic Party's Newton Kariuki, popularly known as Karish, who garnered 15,308.
The mini-polls were triggered by the appointment of Geoffrey Ruku as Public Service Cabinet Secretary, replacing Justin Muturi, who was dismissed in March this year.
