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Martha Karua's Petition to Have Entire Election Nullified Dismissed with Costs by Kerugoya High Court

Narc Kenya Party Leader Martha Karua on Thursday suffered a major blow after a petition which she had filed seeking to have the entire August 8 general election nullified was dismissed with costs.

Karua moved to the Kerugoya High Court through lawyer Gitobu Imanyara and sought to have the Chief Justice constitute a three-judge bench to hear the matter.

"The matter is of big magnitude and that is why we have applied that the High Court refers it to the Chief Justice David Maraga so that he can constitute a bench. This is not a simple matter," Imanyara stated in his submissions.

Imanyara further told the court that the election at all levels was run by the same electoral body,the same officials, the same electronic gadgets and were subjected to the same transmission mechanisms similar to the ones of the nullified presidential petition.

Karua’s lawyer further argued that all subordinate courts were bound by decisions of the Supreme Court which would subsequent justify nullification of the entire general election.

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One of the parties in the suit, Governor Anne Waiguru, opposed the bid stating that the decision of the Supreme Court on the presidential election did not amount to a blanket condemnation of the general election.

Waiguru was represented by Nairobi lawyer Paul Nyamondi, who incidentally acted for the IEBC in the Supreme Court petition filed by Raila Odinga.

Also in Waiguru's A-star legal team was lawyer Kamotho Waiganjo and Andrew Muchigi.

The court ruled in favour of the former Devolution boss, dismissing the petition with costs.

In legal procedure, a case dismissed with costs requires the petitioner, in this case the Narc Kenya Party leader, to pay the legal costs incurred by all other parties. Apart from Waiguru, IEBC was also listed as a respondent in Karua’s petition.

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