The Petition challenging election of Tanariver Governor Dhadho Gaddae Godhana has been dismissed with Sh. 2 Million costs at the Malindi high court.
Lady Justice Asenath Ongeri sitting in Malindi for the election petition ruled that the petition filed by former Governor Tunea Hussein Dado of Jubilee party contained mainly issues of here say, generalization and lacked merit as it failed to show any evidence.
The Judgment was 97 pages but Lady Justice Ongeri read a few section of the judgment and all the findings due to time leaving the parties to read the highlights.
In her judgment delivered in a packed court under tight security Ongeri said she had carefully considered the evidence adduced by the parties, affidavits, evidences in written submission filed by the petitioner and the issues agreed for determination during pretrial.
She said among the issues considered were whether election of Tanariver had been conducted in accordance to the law, who should bear the costs of the petition.
The petitioner she said had alleged that voting was disrupted in Garsen primary school polling station, tallying of votes at Galole county tallying center was disrupted by supporters of Dhadho who stabbed an election office and injured IEBC officer.
Further she said the former governor had alleged that the petitioner’s chief agent and other agents, voters and other people ran away and the center abandoned which compromised the authencity of the results.
The Judge also noted that Dado had claimed that in Kipini primary school poling center and Imani primary school his agents were prevented from assisting illiterate voters.
The Judge also said that the former Governor claimed that many forms 37As were not filled and inaccurate.
In her findings she said the petitioner did not show any evidence that there is a polling station known as Mbadi.
She said in the Garsen polling station the petitioner had no evidence that the Godhana’s supporters affected the voting.
In the systematic judgment she also outlined the Galole tallying center violence which the petitioner claimed the exercise was disrupted by violence where three people were shot by the police to death.
She said the incident procured on August 9 after voting had occurred adding that the petitioner witnessed but did not go back.
On the issue of the former Governor’s chief agent abandoning the tallying center said it was his duty to witness the tallying as stipulated in law this cannot call for nullification of results for his own fault.
“I find that the petitioner has not proved that violence at Galole tallying center affected the elections, the allegations that it was the third respondent’s supporters who engineered violence is merely here say,’’ he said.
She also said there was no evidence that there were any materials which were damaged.
Immediately after delivering the judgment supporters of Governor Godhana who were packed in and outside the courtroom begun celebrating However supporters of Dado and his deputy Jire Siyat who were present in court seem to be disagreeing with the ruling
Dhadho who was accompanied by his Deputy Salim Batuyu and lawyer Prof. Tom Ojienda said the court judgment has now proved that he was the duly elected Governor of Tanariver.
Tana River County has 118,327 registered voters spread across the vast county with three constituencies who shall be voting in 308 polling stations.
The total votes cast during the august 8 elections were 84, 423 and IEBC declared Godhana the winner with 25, 958 while the former governor got 24,194 votes.