Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti can finally heave a sigh of relief after the Supreme Court yesterday upheld his election.
The judges dismissed the decisions by the Court of Appeal and the High Court that had nullified his victory. Both courts erred when they failed to consider the scrutiny report that was filed by the Deputy Registrar, they said.
CYPRIAN AWITI bounces back in Homa Bay as Supreme Court rules his election valid, judges fault lower courts for ignoring scrutiny report. pic.twitter.com/Mp559wEQlk
— NationBreakingNews (@NationBreaking) February 7, 2019
The six apex court judges unanimously agreed that the scrutiny report was important and should have been considered by the both the lower courts. “It is well established that once a court orders for a scrutiny of the votes, they must take the findings into account.”
Awiti’s rival Oyugi Magwanga had argued that the apex court had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal, but the judges ruled otherwise.
Judge Jackton Ojwang said the conclusion by the trial court that the election was a sham was not backed by any evidence.