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High Court upholds Hassan Joho's victory

Hassan JohoHassan Joho will continue serving as Mombasa governor after the High Court dismissed a petition challenging his election.
Justice Lydia Achode upheld Mr Joho’s election stating that the 10 grounds provided by the petitioners in seeking for nullification of the county boss re-election were insufficient, hearsay and lacking in evidence.
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Justice Achode said the petitioners, former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar and his running mate Lindah Shuma, failed to prove allegations of ballot stuffing, voter bribery and unstamped ballot papers.
She said election petitions should not be used to seek for a repeat polls.
Mr Omar and Ms Shuma were ordered to pay Sh8 million as cost of the petition.
Mr Joho and his supporters broke into celebrations after the court’s verdict.
The flamboyant Mombasa Governor who is also the ODM deputy Party Leader has pulled through many court battles since he was first elected governor in 2013.
His academic papers have also been questioned.
Last October, the court ruled that the state breached and violated Mr Joho’s rights by commencing fresh investigations over his academic credentials.
Justice Eric Ogola ruled that the investigations were ill timed, politically instigated and that the intended prosecution against the governor was not consistent with constitutional values.
He wondered why a complaint against Mr Joho over an alleged forged examination result slip was made this year yet there was a similar complaint over fraudulent acquisition of a degree certificate made in 2013.
DISPUTE
At the same time two freight firms associated with Mr Joho's family were involved in a dispute with Kenya Revenue Authority over a dispute regarding licenses to operate cargo handling facilities.
A bitter critic of the Jubilee administration, Mr Joho has announced that he would vie for the presidency in 2022 and has been working to consolidate his support at the Coast.
The petition verdict is a big blow to Mr Omar who decamped from the Wiper Democratic Movement to Jubilee Party after he lost in last August’s polls.
The former Wiper secretary-general who has maintained a low profile after the election had cast aspersions over the independence of Justice Achode and had demanded she withdraws from the case.
Mr Omar is among top leaders who had shifted allegiance to the ruling coalition but missed out in the recent government appointments.

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