Babu Owino Risks Losing MP Seat for Failing to Respond to Petition

Embakasi East Member of Parliament Babu Owino risks losing his seat after he failed to provide an address of service on a petition challenging his August 8th victory.

Francis Wambugu Mureithi, who challenged Babu for the seat on a Jubilee party ticket filed a petition on September 5th seeking to have his win invalidated.

Election petition procedures require that that the sued party submit and serve a notice of address of service within five days starting from the copies of the case documents were served to him.

Mureithi, however, accuses Babu of failing to issue an address of service as well as failing to file a response to the filed suit in the prescribed time frame.

As result of the failure to comply, Mr Mureithi seeks to compel the court to direct that Mr Owino has conceded to the petition.

“It is now over 12 days from the service of the petition upon Mr Owino and no steps have been taken,” said Mr Ham Lagat who is representing Mr Mureithi.

He added: “The only inference to make in the circumstances is that Mr Owino has conceded to the petition. No known excuse is available to him for non-compliance.”

“The respondents have refused, neglected and failed to file their notices of address of service and response to the petition within the prescribed time in law,” the petitioner says of Owino (1 respondent), Constituency Returning Officer Nicholas Butuk (2 respondents) and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (3
respondent).

In the case documents, lawyer Lagat notes that the Supreme Court previously ruled that electoral disputes must be settled on time as stipulated in the constitution and the electoral laws.