Tuesday
October 1, 2013 - Coalition for Reforms and Democracy on Monday suffered
a major setback after Moses Wetangula was stripped off his Senate seat.
According to Bungoma Judge Francis Gikonyo, Wetangula’s
election was nullified because of bribery, double registration and intimidation
during the March 4 elections. He also found Moses Wetangula guilty of
committing an election offence contrary to the Elections Act, which states;
“A person who is convicted of an
election offense or who is reported guilty of an election offense by the
Election Court shall not be qualified to be nominated for election as an
elected member of National Assembly/Senate, during the remainder of the life of
that Parliament following his conviction or, as the case may be, following the
report”.
Gikonyo slapped Wetangula with a
1 million fine for bribing voters during the March 4th election
(which he paid). The other option would have been imprisonment of up to 6
years.
According to a senior officer at the Independent Electoral
and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Wetangula
who is also the Ford Kenya leader is ineligible to vie for any seat in
the coming 5 years.
The officials said IEBC will disqualify Wetangula on the
grounds of election malpractices just like the way Kethi Kilonzo was barred
from vying the Makueni Senatorial seat in July.
The
Kenyan DAILY MAIL
