The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) has awarded Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua $25,000 (Ksh2,752,500) for violation of her right to fair hearing in an election petition against Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru.
The former minister for Justice had moved to the regional court after the Supreme Court of Kenya dismissed her petition challenging Waiguru’s 2017 victory on August 6, 2019, on a technicality.
In a ruling read out by Justice Isaac Lenaora on behalf of five judges who heard the matter, the Supreme Court upheld the rulings of the two lower courts.
The judges agreed with a High Court verdict that had described the procedures of filing the case as a nullity since the timeframe for filing the suit had lapsed.
Read: Martha Karua Wants Moses Kuria Auctioned To Recover Sh6.5 Million
However, EACJ, which is based in Arusha, Tanzania, ruled today that the state infringed on Karua’s right to access to justice hence ordered it to pay the amount as compensation.
The amount will attract a simple interest of 6 per cent from the date of the judgment until full payment.
Shortly after the ruling, Karua took to Twitter to celebrate her victory and thanked her legal team which included Gitobu Imanyara, Donald Teya and Evans Ogada for a job well done.
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“A great day indeed! EACJ Court has at last rendered justice that was denied by the Judiciary Kenya, ” the senior counsel wrote in response to Imanyara’s tweet on today’s victory.
A great day indeed! @EACJCourt has at last rendered justice that was denied by @Kenyajudiciary https://t.co/IViKiorbWz
— Martha Karua SC (@MarthaKarua) November 30, 2020
In the 2017 poll, Waiguru was declared duly elected governor with 153,353 votes. Karua came in second with 116,626 votes. Immediate Kirinyaga Governor Joseph Ndathi got 4,496 votes.
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