Babu Owino blames Uhuru, Ruto for petition loss, vows to appeal

Babu Owino blames Uhuru, Ruto for petition loss, vows to appeal

Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino, born Paul Ongili, has accused the Executive of arm-twisting the Judiciary to rule against him in an election petition that saw his win nullified.

Speaking at the Milimani Law Courts on Friday, moments after Justice Joseph Sergon’s ruling, Mr. Ongili said that President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto influenced the court decision.

“I would like to state clearly that the whole nation knows what happened. The whole nation knows that this is a war between Babu Owino and President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto. The whole nation knows that I have been highly critical of the president and his deputy. It is sad that the Executive is using its influence to arm-twist the Judiciary. What can’t kill you, can only make you stronger. If Uhuru and Ruto decide to come and vie in Embakasi East, I will beat them yesterday in the morning,” said Mr Owino.

In his ruling, Justice Sergon said Mr. Owino’s election was marred with irregularities and violence. He ordered the MP to pay Ksh2.5 million to the petitioner Francis Mureithi. The IEBC was also ordered to pay Mr Mureithi a similar amount.

Mr. Owino’s lawyer, Edwin Sifuna said plans were underway to appeal the ruling.

“We respect the decision of the court, but we truly disagree with the judge’s conclusion. We absolutely have no doubt that our client won the election fairly and squarely, given a vote recount was ordered and he still emerged the winner. We’ll file an appeal against Justice Sergon’s ruling. As we speak, Mr. Jackson Awele is filing an appeal against the judge’s decision to annul Mr. Owino’s election,” said Mr. Sifuna.

Mr. Mureithi, in his address to journalists outside the Milimani Law Courts, thanked the court for ensuring justice prevailed.

A report filed by High Court deputy registrar on Monday, February 26 showed that after a recount, Mr Owino garnered 46,817 votes against Mr Mureithi’s 42,501 votes.

According to the report, both Mr Owino and Mr Mureithi registered an increase in votes after the recount.

Mr. Owino has, on several occasions, clashed with the president and was accused of using vile language against Mr. Kenyatta.

Tags:

Uhuru kenyatta Babu Owino Francis Mureithi Justice Joseph Sergon Petition

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