MP Babu Owino declared himself winner, court told

The petitioner challenging the election of Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino on Monday (November 27) claimed that Babu declared himself a winner of the August 8th elections.

Appearing before Justice Joseph Sergon, Mr. Francis Mureithi took to the witness stand where he was cross-examined by Owino’s advocate Jackson Awele who took him to task over his claims that the constituency election was not credible, hence should be overturned.

Mr Mureithi told the court that Babu Owino declared himself a winner, overruling the mandate of the returning officer. He, however, could not substantiate how the said returning officer could sign forms and results he never declared.

Amid claims that Babu Owino bribed voters and had his votes topped up, Mureithi did not deny that he too was a beneficiary of votes top up in some polling stations.

He further told the court that unlike Babu who gave voters money on the voting day, he (Mureithi) only treated voters by supplying them food stuff which according to him does not qualify to be called bribery.

In his witness testimony which lasted the whole day, Mureithi claimed that the election exercise was marred with violence, intimidation, voter bribery among other malpractices which he could not independently prove as he was only told by his agents.

Mureithi, who got 39,805 votes against Babu’s  43,862, intends to call a total of 12 witnesses in support of his case. The hearing of the case continues.