Mbaru now appeals against Waititu’s ticket

Posted by SIMON NDONGA on January 21, 2013

Mbaru claimed that during the voting process, many genuine members were locked out while non-party members were allowed to vote/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 21 – Businessman Jimnah Mbaru has now lodged an appeal to the TNA’s Nomination Appeals Board, contesting the party’s decision to award a certificate to Ferdinand Waititu for the gubernatorial post in Nairobi.

In a statement, Mbaru claimed that during the voting process, many genuine members were locked out while non-party members were allowed to vote.

He says there were many cases of irregularities which included voter bribery, violence, undue influences and intimidation.

“I would like to notify the public that, I have lodged an appeal to the TNA’s tribunal board, contesting the party’s decision to award the governor nominee to Ferdinand Waititu,” he said.

“The marred voting process which locked out many genuine members from voting and allowed non party members to vote,” he stated.

He further states that his agents were beaten up and chased away from polling stations.

“That the said malpractices and or irregularities include but are not limited to voter bribery, violence, undue influences and intimidation,” he claimed.

“The worst incident occurred at Mukuru Kayaba, where one of my agents Scholastica Mueni was severely assaulted leading to loss of her eye and she is currently admitted to the Kenyatta National Hospital.”

He is appealing to the party to scrutinise the results of the process once again to ensure that it was free and fair.
“The said Ferdinand Waititu pre-maturely declared himself the winner before official voting was completed, thereby causing disruption of the voting process to some polling stations where I have strong support,” he said.

He pointed out that Waititu does not pass the integrity test under Chapter 6 of the Constitution and his nomination is in contravention of the Constitution and the Elections Act.

In the meantime, Waititu met a group of city residents who are opposed to his bid at a Nairobi hotel to ‘explain himself’ to the voters who seems uncomfortable with his nomination.

The immediate former Embakasi MP said that he will strive to convince the middle class voters that his leadership is not destructive as perceived and if elected he will serve all.

“If anybody experienced some issues, I am sure that they are going to be handled by the dispute committee in the party and therefore nobody should think that their matters will not be handled,” Waititu said.

“For those who lost, I would like to urge them to join hands with those who won so that we can build a strong party and I would also want to assure them that we shall consider them for various positions in the future,” he stated.