Court Delivers Ruling on Petition Challenging Election of Leo Wamuthende

The High Court has upheld the election of Leo Wamuthende as the duly elected Member of Parliament for Mbeere North following the by-election petition challenging his victory.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday, May 14, 2026, the court dismissed the petition that had sought to nullify Wamuthende’s election results.

The petitioner Newton Karish who was Wamuthende’s closest rival in the by-election had moved to court contesting the outcome of the Mbeere North by-election, arguing that the electoral process was not conducted in accordance with the law.

However, the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to overturn the outcome of the election.

“Leo Wamuthende is the duly elected Member of Parliament for Mbeere North,” part of the ruling stated.

Leo Wamuthende Declared Validly Elected 

The court said evidence presented showed that physical voter registers were available in all polling stations and were only to be used if the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits completely failed.

The judge noted that witnesses presented by the petitioner gave contradictory accounts regarding the alleged absence of manual registers during voting.

Also Read: Court Orders Recount of Mbeere North MP By-Election Ballots

Scrutiny also confirmed that all polling stations had physical voter registers sealed in transparent bags with QR codes used to activate the KIEMS kits.

“The evidence demonstrated that there was a physical voters’ register available at every polling station,” the judge said.

Court Dismisses Voter Register Claims

The court further found there was no proof that any voter had been denied a chance to vote due to failure of biometric identification or lack of physical registers.

“Had there been failure of biometric and alphanumeric identification followed by failure by IEBC to deploy the physical register, a case of voter disenfranchisement would have been made out. So that issue also fails,” the judge ruled.

On claims of unlawful interference with voter registration data, the court acknowledged evidence showing that an IEBC registration officer in Ruiru irregularly registered one voter, Collins Monene, using an open KIEMS kit despite the register having been frozen ahead of the by-election.

However, the judge ruled that the incident resulted from human error and that there was no evidence that the interference was widespread or intended to manipulate the election outcome.

“In substance, therefore, there was no proof and thus no finding can be made that the stated interference with the register affected the will of the people,” the court stated.

Violence Claims Fail to Convince Court

The ruling also addressed allegations of violence and voter intimidation at Kaungu and Gitiburi polling stations.

Also Read: Leonard Wamuthende: Profile of Newly Elected Mbeere North MP

Evidence presented in court showed that violence temporarily disrupted voting at Kaungu polling station, causing a decline in voter turnout in the afternoon after chaos erupted outside the polling centre.

Despite this, the judge held that the petitioner failed to prove the violence was widespread across the constituency or significant enough to affect the final outcome of the election.

“The court is not able to find that such violence was widespread beyond Gitiburi and Kaungu stations or was systematic or pervasive within the constituency,” the judge said.

The court further noted that although voter turnout at Kaungu polling station declined after the violence, the reduction was not enough to alter the election results.

“I am not persuaded in the circumstances that the violence substantially affected the overall result of the elections,” the judge ruled.

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Aspirant of Mbeere North Parliamentary seat, Newton Karish. PHOTO/Standard