Election loser says MP used ‘charmed’ cash to win
By David Macharia, November 2, 2022
Petition challenging the election of Kinangop MP Zachary Thuku started in Nyahururu yesterday with allegations of bribery taking centre stage.
Petitioner, Amos Chege of the United Democratic Alliance, accused his competitor of voter bribery and improper votes entering.
He claimed the election was marred with massive irregularities, voter bribery, swapping of results, voter suppression and manipulation that compromised its integrity. The petitioner claims the flaws “subverted the sovereign will of the electorates”.
Alleged bribery
“Maybe the money was bewitched because my voters would claim they did not know how they changed their mind from voting for me,” the petitioner told Justice James Wakianga.
Thuku’s lawyers, Kithinji Marete, Chege Njoroge and Tom Kabau, told the press that the narrative of bribery was not a strong case in the petition.
“The gist of the case is that there was alleged bribery in various parts of Kinangop constituency. In my view, the most glaring allegation is that the petitioner purports that he lost the election simply because of bribery.
“It is his contention that he was very popular and he could not have lost other than he alleged bribery but we continue to take evidence and I do not think he has shown us any case of bribery,” Marete said.