Judge: Officials of electoral body have a case to answer

The prosecution has a watertight case against two Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials facing charges of election malpractices, a Mombasa court has ruled.

Shanzu Senior Principal Magistrate Yusuf Shikanda in his ruling noted that the IEBC officials Nicholas Nyamuya and his deputy Sawiya Mtesi have a case to answer and ordered that they be put on their defence.

The officers were arrested for leaving the election materials unattended while the vote counting exercise was underway. While testifying, Nyamuya informed the court that on the alleged day, he suffered an asthmatic attack and that he was forced to excuse himself, a move that led to his arrest.

“I had been leading the process of vote counting. However, at around 8pm, l developed breathing difficulties and could not continue with the exercise. It is true l abandoned the exercise while the ballot boxes were yet to be sealed and form 34As were not filled,” he told court.