The Embu High Court has dismissed a petition seeking to overturn the victory of Leo Wamuthende, the elected Member of Parliament for Mbeere North.
High court dismisses the petition against Leo Wamuthende
The court’s ruling focused on Election Petition E001 of 2025, which challenged Wamuthende’s victory.
According to the court, the petitioners failed to comply with Section 78 of the Elections Act, which requires that a security deposit of KSh 500,000 be paid within ten days of filing the petition.
Embu High Court has ordered the two petitioners to pay KSh 800,000 in costs, subject to taxation by the Deputy Registrar.
“The Court today made final orders in Election petition E001 of 2025. The Applications challenging Election Petition E001 of 2025 for failure to pay the security deposit were allowed. The Election Petition dated 01st December 2025 was dismissed with costs of Kshs.800,000/= to the Respondents. Costs are subject to taxation by the Deputy Registrar,” read the ruling.
However, the court has upheld a separate petition filed by Newton Kariuki, a candidate who vied on a Democratic Party ticket, after finding that he had met all the legal and procedural requirements for lodging the petition.
Two applications were brought by the respondents seeking to strike out the petition.
The first application, filed on 18th and 27th December 2025, argued that the petitioners had failed to pay the security deposit and challenged the court’s jurisdiction based on provisions in the Elections Act, Political Parties Act, IEBC Act, and Constitution of Kenya.
Second application, filed on 29th December 2025 by the 2nd and 3rd respondents, similarly sought dismissal of the petition for non-compliance with the deposit requirement.
High Court Judge Richard Mwongo ruled in favour of the respondents, allowing both applications and dismissing the petition in its entirety.All other pending applications within the petition were deemed otiose, as their relevance depended on the continuance of the main petition.
Leornard Wa Muthende Career and Political Journey
Following Geoffrey Ruku’s appointment as Cabinet Secretary for Public Service, Leo announced his intention to contest the Mbeere North parliamentary seat in the November 2025 by-election.
Leo attended Siakago Primary School and later St. Paul’s Kevote High School.
His academic performance earned him support from organizations such as Plan International, which sponsored his education.
He earned a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Nairobi, graduating with First Class Honors.
In 2017, he contested for the Embu gubernatorial seat but was defeated by the incumbent, Martin Wambora.
After the election, he focused on his businesses while remaining involved in development initiatives.
In 2022, he supported Geoffrey Ruku for Mbeere North MP and William Ruto for President
In 2006, he co-founded his first company in the pharmaceutical industry.
Additionally, in 2023, he founded two additional firms focused on medical equipment and hospital systems.
Wamuthende Defeats Newton Karish in Mbeere North
According to provisional results, Wamuthende received 15,802 votes, beating Newton Kariuki, popularly known as Karish, who garnered 15,308.
The commission announced the outcome of the closely watched elections following a day marked by high voter turnout, calm polling, and heightened security across the constituency.
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