By Reporter
Kasipul Constituency aspirant in the just concluded ODM Parliamentary by-elections has moved to the party National Appeals Tribunal challenging the nomination of Boyd Were as the party flag bearer.
In an application, Ogada wants the tribunal to grant the reliefs set out, including a declaration nullifying the impugned primaries for Kasipul Constituency, orders for preservation and production of all electoral materials, and directions for a fresh, credible nomination within a defined timeframe under supervision, employing an audited membership register and neutral officials not previously involved.
Newton Onyango Ogada challenges the validity of the ODM nomination for Member of the National Assembly for Kasipul Constituency on account of grave illegalities, violence, and systemic irregularities which vitiated the process ab initio.
Ogada has enlisted the party’s National Elections Board as the 1st respondent, County Elections Board through the Constituency Returning Officer Felix Ngala, and Kasipul Constituency as the 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.
Through Humphrey Obach and Partners Advocates, Hon. Boyd Were is the fourth respondent in an application dated Thursday, September 25, 2025, where the hearing has been certified as a matter of extreme urgency.
Ogada argues that unless stayed, the impugned nomination will be operationalized by the issuance or retention of a provisional or final nomination certificate and/or forwarding of the 4th Respondent’s name to the IEBC, thereby rendering this appeal nugatory and irreparably prejudicing the Applicant and ODM members in Kasipul Constituency.
The impugned primaries were marred by orchestrated violence in which the Applicant’s hospital, Berils Medical Centre, was breached by goons; medical equipment and vehicles were vandalized, hospital staff and patients terrorized, and the Applicant was barricaded within the hospital for over three hours.
Ogada argues that between approximately 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., a mob of goons allied to the 4th Respondent breached Berils Medical Centre where the Applicant was attending to patients.
“Doors and windows were broken, medical equipment smashed, and vehicles vandalized. The Applicant was barricaded in for over two hours, effectively preventing him from accessing polling stations or coordinating agents,” the application reads.
“A report was promptly made at Oyugis Police Station under OB No. 13/25/09/2025,” noted Ogada.
According to the application, widespread irregularities occurred where voters moved station-to-station casting votes multiple times.
Ogada argues that the nomination materials arrived as late as noon in certain stations, but the stations were nonetheless closed at 3:00 p.m. as scheduled.
According to Ogada, minors or high-school-going children were allowed to vote, and there was no reliable ODM membership register.
“Partisan officials allied to the 4th Respondent conducted the exercise; polling stations were merged without notice, and double voting was rampant,” argued the Applicant.
In the application, the reliefs sought include conservatory orders staying further processing of the impugned nomination, securing all electoral materials and digital evidence, and ordering a fresh, credible nomination conducted by neutral officials with a verifiable party register.
Ogada wants the tribunal to issue a declaration order that the Kasipul Constituency, Homa Bay County ODM Party election held on 24th September 2025 was not free, fair, and transparent, hence a nullity.
Further, he wants an order issued declaring null and void the results of the Kasipul Constituency, Homa Bay County ODM Party election held on 24th September 2025.
Ogada further wants an order for a fresh, credible party election process to be issued to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Respondents to be carried out within Kasipul Constituency, within a defined timeframe under proper supervision, employing an audited membership register and neutral officials.
Further, the Applicant wants an injunction issued restraining the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Respondents from forwarding the 4th Respondent as the nominated aspirant for ODM Party for the seat of Kasipul Constituency to IEBC until a fresh, fair, and transparent party election process is conducted.
Ogada came second after garnering 3,037 votes behind Were, who was declared the winner after getting 18,210, while Dan Okindo, Dr. Adel Ottoman, and George Otieno got 621, 463, and 396 votes respectively.
He alleges that the respondents failed to avail or display a verifiable membership register at station level, while many presiding officials resorted to ad hoc identification, enabling persons to vote severally and non-members (including minors) to participate.
“Tally sheets were inconsistently filled; some tallies were announced verbally without displaying station-level results,” reads the application.
