NAIROBI– Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi Jiir can now breathe a sigh of relief after Court of Appeal quashed the election petition lodged against him by Dr. Hassan Adan Fuje.
In a ruling delivered by three judge bench, the appex court sad that it was not satisfied with the grounds warranting the overthrow of the High court that upheld the election of Abdullahi as Wajir governor.
“the Court has no business crafting a jurisdiction it does not have, whatever amount of sympathy it may have on the applicant. It has to down its tools.”reads the statement in part.
#BreakingNews: Court of Appeal dismisses the appeal filed by Dr. Hassan Fuje challenging the High court ruling that upheld Ahmed Abdullahi’s victory as Wajir Governor. https://t.co/1hJGfCDUef pic.twitter.com/s3Kgk1nbyc
— Frontier Online (@FrontierOnlineK) July 24, 2023
Dr. Hassan, the former gubernatorial candidate filed a petition at the Court of Appeal seeking to challenge the High Court ruling that validated the election of Governor Ahmed Abdullahi .
The petitioner argued that the election was not carried out in accordance with the constitution and election laws of the country.
However, the High Court on March 3 upheld the victory of Abdullahi in the August 9 elections.
Justice George Nduru said Governor Abdullahi’s election was conducted according to the constitution and the election.
“I find IEBC officials failed to countersign alterations in form 37a as alleged. I’m convinced that the alterations however were caused by human error which is excusable,” Dulu stated.
Fuje became lost the elections to Abdullahi who bounced back after five years of being in the cold.
Adan garnered 27,224 votes against Abdullahi’s 35,533 votes.
Governor Abdullahi welcomed the decision by the Court of Appeal reiterating that time is ripe for his administration to deliver to the people of Wajir.
“It is time for us to soldier on and continue to deliver for the people of Wajir.” he said.
He thanked the residents for braving the scorching sun and electing him in to office whilst eventually applauding the work by his legal team in successfully pursuing the litigation to its conclusion.
Wajir Governor @HEAhmedJiir welcomes Court of Appeal decision that upheld his August 8th Victory, says It is time to soldier on and continue to deliver for the people of Wajir. pic.twitter.com/EsJYm6032r
— Frontier Online (@FrontierOnlineK) July 24, 2023
“Many thanks to the people of Wajir who defied the sweltering sun on election day to ensure we won together and restore optimism.
I would like to congratulate my lawyers and team for successfully pursuing this case to its conclusion.” read the statement.
