Chief Justice Martha Koome has appointed High Court Judge Richard Mwongo to preside over a petition contesting the results of the Mbeere North parliamentary by-election.
This comes days after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced Leonard Wa Muthende of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party as the Member of Parliament-elect on the November 28.
Wa Muthende, who has already been sworn in as the Mbeere North MP, won with 15,802 votes, narrowly defeating Newton Kariuki (Karish) of the Democratic Party (DP), who received 15,308 votes, in a closely contested by-election.
Following the IEBC’s declaration, two voters from Mbeere North filed a petition at the Embu High Court on December 1, challenging the election of the UDA candidate.
The voters, Julieta Karigi and Patrick Gitonga, urged the court to nullify the election and hold a fresh one.
CJ Martha Koome, in turn, through a Gazette notice dated December 5, 2025, directed Judge Mwongo to hear the petition.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 75 of the Elections Act, 2011, and Rule 6(3) of the Elections (Parliamentary and County Elections) Petition Rules, 2017, the Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya directs that the election petition whose details are given hereunder shall be heard in the Election Court comprising the Judge listed and sitting at the court station indicated,” the notice reads.
Mbeere North by-election petition
The petitioners alleged that there were inconsistencies in Wamuthende’s identity and that the UDA candidate was not a registered voter, rendering the election neither free, fair, nor verifiable.
The voters observed that the Mbeere MP executed a Deed Poll on September 3, 2024, renouncing his former name, Leonard Muriuki Njeru, and legally adopting the name Leo Wa Muthende Njeru.
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According to the petitioners, the Constitution provides that a person is eligible to be elected as an MP only if that person is a duly registered voter. Wa Muthende was named as a respondent in the case.
“The first respondent was declared the purported winner of the Mbeere North by-election under the name Leo Wa Muthende Njeru which doesn’t appear in the register of voters. The only name registered in the electoral roll is Leonard Muriuki Njeru, which the respondent had previously denounced,” argued the voters in their sworn affidavit.
“The declaration of the first respondent as the winner under a name not registered in the electoral roll renders the election outcome unlawful, invalid and void, constituting a matter of urgent public importance requiring immediate intervention of the court.”
In the affidavit, the voters further argued that despite the published and legally valid Deed Poll, the first respondent presented nomination papers under his old name.
The voters faulted the IEBC and the Mbeere North returning officer, John Mwii Kinyua, for accepting and processing his nomination, accusing the electoral body of allowing a candidate with two inconsistent identities to contest and be declared the winner.
Allegations of State interference
The petition followed Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s claims that President William Ruto and senior government officials were meddling in the Mbeere North and Malava by-elections.
Speaking during a church service in Machakos, Kalonzo claimed that police, local administrators, and Cabinet Secretaries were deployed to influence the outcomes in favor of UDA candidates.
“William Ruto knows UDA did not win in Mbeere and UDA did not win in Malava,” he said.
“We have evidence — direct interference. He himself called the OCS at one station and another in Mbeere and said it is absolutely necessary that Wamuthende must win.”
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Kalonzo further alleged that vote tallying at several polling stations was compromised, with officials pressured to match results to instructions from senior state figures.
He added, “There was no voter tallying… they were looking for the number that Ruto wanted.”
He also accused police of collaborating with “hooligans” to intimidate voters and disrupt the counting process.
The united opposition pledged to submit what Kalonzo described as a “strong, comprehensive legal petition.”
Despite the allegations, IEBC has maintained that the election outcomes remain valid.
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