Court Upholds Election of Leo Wamuthende as Mbeere North MP

By BRIAN MUSYOKA 

In a detailed judgment delivered at the High Court of Kenya in Embu today Thursday 21st May 2026, the court found that although several irregularities and electoral malpractices had been highlighted during the hearing, none of them substantially affected the final outcome of the election.

 The court consequently certified Leo Wa Muthende as the duly elected MP for Mbeere North Constituency.

The petitioner had challenged the election on multiple grounds, including allegations of violence, voter bribery, unlawful interference with the voter register, misuse of state resources, irregular appointment of election officials, and mishandling of election materials. He argued that the cumulative effect of the alleged violations rendered the election unconstitutional, illegal and invalid.

On the issue of appointment and dismissal of presiding officers, the court ruled that the petitioner failed to provide sufficient evidence identifying the officers allegedly irregularly appointed or dismissed.

 Justice Mwongo observed that the petition did not specify which legal provisions had been breached and found no proof of any disqualifying conduct by election officials.

The court also dismissed claims that failure to deploy printed voter registers disenfranchised voters. The court ruled that the evidence presented showed that physical voter registers were available at every polling station and that the KIEMS kits contained soft-copy replicas of the same registers. The judge concluded that no voter had been denied the opportunity to vote.

On allegations of unlawful interference with voter registration data, the court acknowledged evidence showing that an IEBC registration officer using an open KIEMS kit could alter voter registration details even after the register had been “frozen.” However, the court noted that only one voter was registered after the freeze and ruled that there was no proof the interference was widespread or intended to manipulate the election outcome.

Justice Mwongo further stated that while the isolated alteration of the register could amount to a criminal offence by the officer involved, there was no evidence that the single incident affected the will of the electorate in Mbeere North.

The petition also cited incidents of violence and intimidation at polling stations, particularly in Gitiburi and Kaungu. The court confirmed that violence occurred in those areas, especially at Kaungu, and that voter turnout dropped after the disturbances.

 However, the judge ruled that the violence was neither widespread nor systematic enough to substantially affect the election results.

On allegations of bribery and undue influence, the court found credible evidence from two witnesses suggesting that electoral bribery may have occurred. Justice Mwongo held that the acts complained of could amount to criminal electoral malpractice under Section 87 of the Elections Act. Despite this finding, the court maintained that there was no evidence demonstrating that the malpractice significantly altered the final vote.

The court also examined allegations relating to broken chain of custody and mishandling of election materials. While irregularities were identified at Gitiburi polling stations, the judge ruled that there was no evidence that votes were tampered with or that the irregularities were substantial enough to invalidate the election.

Claims that state resources and public officers were used to improperly influence voters equally failed. The court found that although names of public officers had been mentioned, the petitioner failed to provide evidence of their official roles, the alleged abuse of office, or how such actions influenced voters and affected the election outcome.

The scrutiny exercise conducted during the case also revealed inconsistencies between Forms 35A and 35B amounting to a ten-vote difference. However, the court described the discrepancies as clerical mistakes arising from translocation errors rather than evidence of fraud or manipulation. The judge noted that scrutiny of overwritten forms did not reveal any major discrepancies.

One of the most striking findings in the judgment related to assisted voters. The court established that Regulation 72(6) of the Elections (General) Regulations had been violated because over 1,000 assisted voters were not properly recorded in the physical registers, KIEMS records, or polling station diaries. Additionally, six individuals were found to have assisted more than one voter contrary to the law.

Despite these findings, the court ruled that the assisted voter evidence had emerged during scrutiny and had not been specifically pleaded in the petition. Justice Mwongo therefore held that the court could not rely on that evidence to invalidate the election.

The court capped the costs of the petition at KSh 4 million, with the IEBC and the first three respondents entitled to 70 percent of the costs while Leo Wa Muthende, the fourth respondent, would receive 30 percent. The judgment also directed that criminal aspects identified during the proceedings, including unlawful alteration of the register and double assistance of voters, be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for further action.

The petitioner Newton Kariuki Ndwiga through his lawyer Ndegwa Njiru said he will make an appeal over the judgement.

"We will be moving to the court of appeal,"Njiru said.

Wamuthende on his side said the win was for the people of Mbeere North who stood in line to vote. He said he was ready to defend his win even in the Court of Appeal.