Ngilu poll win upheld as court dismisses Malombe petition

The Court of Appeal has upheld the election of Charity Ngilu as Kitui Governor.

A petition challenging her win had been lodged by former Kitui Governor Julius Makau Malombe.

Also Read: Malombe accuses Ngilu of disrupting his meetings

On Thursday, the Appellate Court ruled that Malombe did not provide sufficient evidence to prove his claims of irregularities in the August 2017 elections.

He had filed an appeal after the High Court dealt him a huge blow on March 2 and declared Mrs. Ngilu’s election valid.

This was despite having ordered a recount of votes cast in 50 polling stations in Kitui County in January. According to him, the judge who handled the matter was not gazetted to rule on election petitions.

Lady Justice Nyamweya, in a ruling read on her behalf by Justice John Mativo, had said there was lack of enough evidence to prove the petitioner’s case.

Malombe was then ordered to pay Ksh.6million to the repondents; Mrs. Ngilu and the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

He however expressed his dissatisfaction with the ruling and vowed to take the fight to the Appeal Court.