Panyako accused of blackmail as IEBC faults him over Ksh.3M suit payout

Panyako accused of blackmail as IEBC faults him over Ksh.3M suit payout

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has accused Seth Panyako of attempting to blackmail them in a bid to avert litigation costs owed to them.

In a statement, the electoral body termed the allegations levelled by the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) official as “misplaced, misdirected and lacking in substance.”

“To date the said Panyako has not complied with the said High Court and Court of Appeal orders to pay the costs to IEBC,” the commission said.

Panyako apparently filed a petition before the Justice Legal Affairs Committee claiming that IEBC gazetted wrong results in the Kakamega County senatorial election.

The move followed a court ruling that dismissed a previous petition that was deemed incurably defective and incapable in its form and substance.

The court further directed that he pay costs of Ksh.3million to the respondents: IEBC, the Returning Officer and Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala.

“It is apparent that Seth Panyako relied on incomplete electronic results whose transmission was in process and did not exercise patience to rely on the gazetted election results that are legitimate,” read the statement.

The row over the Kakamega Senatorial seat began in September last year after Panyako filed an election petition at the Kisumu High Court challenging Malala’s win.

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IEBC Cleophas Malala Seth Panyako

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