Court declares aspirant’s suit against IEBC, Safaricom urgent.The Kisumu High Court has certified as urgent an application by William Oduol seeking to compel the electoral commission and Safaricom limited to release data that he needs to file an election petition.
Mr Oduol (New Agenda Party) lost the Siaya county’s governorship race to Mr Cornel Rasanga (ODM).\
Justice Aggrey Muchelule certified the application as urgent. The case will be heard on Monday March 18.
The application was filed by lawyer Odhiambo Wakla.
William Odhiambo Oduol history of legal disputes involving the IEBC
William Odhiambo Oduol, the Deputy Governor of Siaya County, has a history of legal disputes involving the IEBC.
In 2013, he contested the gubernatorial election results for Siaya County, alleging electoral malpractices such as over-voting and the disappearance of ballot boxes.
The High Court at Kisumu nullified the election, citing serious irregularities during the campaign period and voting process.
The court found that the election was not conducted in accordance with the principles laid down by electoral law and that the anomalies found in Forms 16A and 17A were not so pervasive or serious as to affect the entire election.
Additionally, in 2016, Oduol was involved in a legal matter where he accused an IEBC official of withholding election-related documents, which allegedly led to a leak of internal information to the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) party.
The official denied the allegations, stating that he was unaware of how the information may have been leaked .
