Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission will hold a rerun of Wajir Gubernatorial Election after 2017 poll was annulled.
The country’s court of Appeal on Friday upheld the High Court decision nullifying the election of Wajir Governor, Mohamed Abdi Mohamud, a move that paves the way for a by-election in the county.
Judges, Milton Makhandia, Philip Waki and Patric Kiage said Governor Abdi could not be cleared to vie for Wajir governorship for lack of genuine education certificates.
The appeals court pointed out that governor Abdi failed to appear before the High Court during the hearing of the petition to dismiss claims that he had no valid undergraduate degree.
“The Cavalier attitude by the appellant in the face of serious questions about his eligibility to vie for the seat of the governor was compounded and rendered tragic by his choice to stay away from the proceedings and therefore not only fail to present his side of the story but also keep himself from being cross-examined on his replaying affidavit, thereby robbing it of any probative value,” said the Judges.
They jointly ruled that the High Court judge, Justice Mabaye had not erred on his verdict to nullify Wajir election based on the questionable degree certificate from Kampala University in Uganda.
The High Court nullified election of Governor Abdi on January 12 this year following a petition by former Wajir Ahmed Abdullahi.
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