– Johnson Sakaja believes embattled NASA politician Babu Owino will easily reclaim his parliamentary seat should a by-election be held in Embakasi East
– The Jubilee Party senator argued Owino had the numbers to beat his bitter political rival Francis Mureithi and this time by a bigger margin
– Owino’s August 8, 2017 election victory was nullified by High Court
– Judge Joseph Sergon ruled that the election was marred by massive irregularities
A highly respected Jubilee Party-allied senator, Johnson Sakaja, has declared that Babu Owino will emerge victorious again if a by-election is to be held in Embakasi East constituency.
Speaking to one of the local dailies on Friday, March 2, the Nairobi County senator argued that the controversial NASA politician had the numbers and will easily reclaim his parliamentary seat in a by-election.
“Believe you me, if a by-election is held in Embakasi East, then Babu Owino will win again. He will will with a bigger margin than he did in August 8,” Sakaja opined.
Owino’s August 8, 2017 election victory was nullified by High Court on Friday, March 2, following a vote recount in Embaksasi East.
The judge slapped Owino with fine of KSh 5 million and ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to conduct fresh election in Embakasi East.
Interestingly, the vote recount exercise that was ordered by the same court showed Owino had more votes than Jubilee Party’s candidate, Francis Mureithi, who was the petitioner.
Report presented by High Court deputy registrar, seen by TUKO.co.ke on Monday, February 26, 2018, showed Owino garnered 46,817 votes against Mureithi’s 42,501 votes after recount.
Judge Sergon, however, held that it was impossible to verify results in several polling stations and that the election was not conducted in a free and fair environment.
Addressing the media shortly after the final verdict was delivered, Owino’s lawyers indicated that they will appeal the High Court ruling.
His friend Sakaja, who not long ago bailed him out of jail, thinks he should go for the by-election without any fear because the numbers are on his side.
Leave a Reply