The Court of Appeal has upheld the nullification of Harrison Kombe’s election as the Member of Parliament for Magarini Constituency.
As a result, voters in the constituency are set to head back to the ballot in a by-election.
Harrison Kombe had contested a High Court decision delivered in March of the current year, which led to the nullification of his election.
Justice Alfred Mabeya, who presided over the case, cited numerous irregularities during the August 9, 2022 poll, including instances of ballot stuffing and vote swapping, as the basis for the nullification.
The petition to challenge the poll outcome was brought forth by former Kilifi County Assembly Deputy Speaker, Stanley Karisa Kenga. Kenga, who ran on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket, secured 11,925 votes, while Kombe obtained 11,946 votes, resulting in a narrow margin of only 21 votes between the two candidates.
The election for the Magarini MP seat witnessed the participation of seven candidates, making it a closely contested race.
With the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold the nullification, the MP seat in Magarini has been declared vacant, triggering a by-election to determine the constituency’s new representative.