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Cyprian Awiti loses Homa Bay governor seat

The High Court has quashed the August 8 election victory of Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti.

Judge Joseph Karanja, sitting in Homa Bay, on Tuesday found the the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) did not conduct a free and fair election.

The case had been filed by Mr Awiti's challenger and independent candidate Oyugi Magwanga.

Mr Magwanga, who cited massive irregularities in the poll in the petition, provided enough evidence, accodring to Justice Karanja.

The court ordered IEBC to conduct a repeat election that meets the threshold set in the Constitution and election laws.

According to the IEBC's results, which have been nullified by the court, Mr Awiti got 44,802 votes against Mr Magwanga’s 24,009 in Karachuonyo, while in Kasipul, Mr Awiti got 29,236 against Mr Magwanga's 18,181 votes.

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Mr Oyugi Magwanga (in checked shirt) addresses journalists outside Homa Bay Law Courts after the High Court nullified the victory of Mr Cyprian Awiti. He is flanked by his lawyers and supporters. PHOTO | BARACK ODUOR | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Kabondo Kasipul, Mr Magwanga got 16,873 votes against Mr Awiti’s 24,796 votes.

The former Kasipul MP said he had a parallel tallying centre whose results revealed that he garnered 224,863 votes against Awiti’s 174,235 votes.

However, the IEBC declared Mr Awiti the victor with 210,173 votes as Mr Magwanga came second with 189,060 votes.

Mr Tom Onyango of Jubilee Party was third with 1,432 votes while Mr Medo Misama, another independent, managed 668 votes.

The two fierce rivals had initially locked horns in Orange Democratic Movement primaries, with Mr Awiti carrying the day but Mr Magwanga rejected the results and, in a protest, decided to run an independent.

Mr Awiti becomes the second governor to lose his after Wajir's Ahmed Mohammed Abdi Mahamud, whose election was nullified following a successful petition on January 12.