Speaking on Friday, July 16, Njama stated that his lawyers were following up and would file a case to challenge Njuguna’s win and stop his swearing-in.
Njama stated that he will petition the court to compel the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to recount the votes cast. Kiambu Women Rep Sabina Chege also backed the calls by Njama to have the votes recounted.
Jubilee supporters took to the streets demanding the rights of their candidate who lost the hotly contested by-election.
IEBC suspended the Kiambaa constituency vote tallying Friday morning after Njama and his supporters stormed into the tallying centre and caused a fracas.
Njama and his supporters alleged that IEBC under Wafula Chebukati were tilting elections in the favour of UDA’s Njuguna Wanjiku.
152 polling stations out of 154 had been tallied with Wanjiku leading with 21,301 votes, 244 more than Kariri Njama’s 21,057 votes.
The Jubilee candidate and his entourage wanted IEBC’s Kiambaa Returning Officer – Peter Muigai – to recount votes for two centres, Kawaida and Muchatha polling stations they alleged had witnessed election malpractices.
Njuguna clinched 21,773 votes defeating Jubilee’s Kariri Njama who garnered 21,263 votes. There were eight aspirants but the contest had narrowed down to a two-horse race.
The total number of votes that were counted were 43,700, a voter turnout of 45.51%. Speaking to reporters, Njuguna stated that the party had been working tirelessly to ensure that it won the by-election.
“It has been a journey and I want to thank the Kiambaa people for entrusting me with their votes and for giving me an opportunity to serve them for the next one year.
“It has been a tough journey. There was a lot of voter bribery and intimidation but finally, God has granted us the win and we are very happy,” Njuguna stated.
Source: KENYAGIST.COM
