Court to hear petition challenging eligibility of Embu North MP Leo Wa Muthende
Chief Justice Martha Koome has assigned Judge Richard Mwongo to hear a petition at the Embu High Court challenging Mbeere North MP Leo Wa Muthende Njeru’s election over alleged identity and voter registration issues.
Chief Justice Martha Koome has directed that a new election petition involving the Embu North parliamentary seat be heard in the High Court.
Koome issued the directive pursuant to Section 75 of the Elections Act, 2011, and Rule 6(3) of the Elections (Parliamentary and County Elections) Petition Rules, 2017.
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“The Chief Justice directs that the election petition whose details are given hereunder shall be heard in the Election Court comprising the judge listed and sitting at the court station indicated,” reads a gazette notice dated December 5, 2025.
Judge Richard Mwongo will oversee the case at the Embu High Court.
Two voters from Mbeere North, Julieta Karigi and Patrick Gitonga, earlier filed a petition at the Embu High Court challenging the election of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Leo Wa Muthende Njeru.
The petitioners are seeking to have the election nullified and a fresh poll conducted, and they have requested that their petition, dated December 1, 2025, be certified urgent.
The petitioners allege inconsistencies in the candidate’s identity, claiming he was not a registered voter at the time of the election.
They note that on September 3, 2024, the UDA candidate executed a deed poll renouncing his former name, Leonard Muriuki Njeru, and legally adopting the name Leo Wa Muthende Njeru.
They argue that the Constitution allows only duly registered voters to contest for parliamentary seats.
“The first respondent was declared the purported winner of the Mbeere North by-election under the name Leo Wa Muthende Njeru, which doesn’t appear in the register of voters. The only name registered in the electoral roll is Leonard Muriuki Njeru, which the respondent had previously denounced,” the voters stated in their affidavit. They added that this renders him ineligible for election to the National Assembly.
“The declaration of the first respondent as the winner under a name not registered in the electoral roll renders the election outcome unlawful, invalid and void, constituting a matter of urgent public importance requiring immediate intervention of the court,” the petitioners added.
The affidavit further claims that despite the legally valid deed poll, the candidate submitted nomination papers under his former name.
The petitioners have faulted the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and Mbeere North returning officer John Mwii Kinyua for accepting and processing his nomination.
They accused the commission of allowing a candidate with two conflicting identities to contest and be declared the winner.
Wa Muthende, who has already been sworn in as the Mbeere North MP, is cited as the first respondent.
He won the election with 15,802 votes against his closest challenger, Newton Kariuki (Karish) of the Democratic Party, who garnered 15,308 votes.
Out of 55,124 registered voters, 33,947 cast ballots, representing a 61.9 per cent turnout, one of the highest in Kenya’s by-election history.
Chief Justice Koome has emphasised that the election court will oversee the hearing and determination of the matter in accordance with the law.
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