High Court orders partial voter recounts of Mbeere North by-elections

Voters queue to cast votes in Mbeere North by-elections on Thursday, November 27, 2025./HANDOUT

The High Court in Embu has ordered a limited scrutiny and recount of ballots and election materials in the disputed 2025 Mbeere North by-election.

The elections saw Leonard Wamuthende of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) declared as the winner against Newton Karish of the Democratic Party of Kenya (DP).

The ruling, delivered virtually by Justice Richard Mwongo on March 27 2026, comes after Newton went to court seeking scrutiny and a recount of ballots and election materials in several polling stations, citing alleged irregularities and disruptions during the voting process.

In his case, Newton Kariuki sued the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), John Mwii Kinyua, Curtis Njeru Mawira, and Leonard Wamuthende Njeru, challenging the results of the elections held earlier in November last year.

He cited alleged voter register irregularities, assisted voter discrepancies, altered Forms 35A, election violence, bribery, agent exclusion, and mismanaged election materials, seeking limited scrutiny and recounts.

“From all the evidence adduced by the parties' witnesses herein, and taking into account the respondents' witnesses' evidence on the DR's Report, there shall be limited scrutiny and recount of ballots and election material as herein under directed,” the judge said.

 The court highlighted that scrutiny and recount would focus on specific polling stations and materials where irregularities or disruptions were reported.

These include the Gitiburi 1 and 2 polling stations, which experienced disruptions following a fire outbreak and commotion that temporarily broke the chain of custody of ballot materials.

The votes for these two stations had to be counted at Gitiburi 1, creating a situation that the court found warranted a full scrutiny and recount.

Similarly, Kaungu polling station will undergo a recount following what the court found were reports of gross violence and overrunning of voters.

“There is persuasive evidence that the gross violence and overrunning of wananchi witnessed at Kaungu polling station, resulting in a 30-minute closure of polling, could have affected the outcome of the election,” the judge observed.

Witnesses testified that the chaos could have affected the outcome of the election at this station, prompting the court to direct verification of all election materials used there.

Other polling stations selected for scrutiny include Siakago Social Hall, Mwondu Primary School, Gikuyari Primary School, Nthigirani 1/1, Kamauwa 1/1, Gwakaithi 1/1, Mbaruari 1/1, and Cingera 2/2.

The court emphasised the need to verify the register of voters, KIEMS Kit logs, and Polling Station Diaries (PSDs) at these stations to ascertain whether unregistered or unidentified voters participated in the by-election.

Ballot boxes containing strategic materials delivered at the tallying center, as well as the KIEMS kits and other election materials, were also ordered to be opened for scrutiny.

The Deputy Registrar, who is tasked with supervising the process, is expected to compile a report detailing her findings and submit it to the court by April 17, 2026.

“The Court will issue detailed directions to the Deputy Registrar, which directions will be published to the parties, for the conduct of the Scrutiny and Recount exercise ordered herein,” Justice Mwongo said.

The court, however, clarified that allegations of voter bribery, which were raised during the petition, did not provide sufficient grounds for scrutiny or recount at any particular polling station.

Similarly, the claim that election agents were denied access to polling stations, the judge found, was not substantiated in a manner that would justify additional scrutiny.

However, he found that certain Forms 35A, which record the votes cast at polling stations, required review in eight polling stations where visible alterations were identified.

Justice Mwongo noted that the scrutiny and recount process is a judicial tool meant to ensure transparency and credibility of election results, and must be exercised with discretion.

The court rejected the respondents’ arguments  that the process would be time-consuming, costly, or impractical, underscoring that the verification exercise is limited and targeted.

Following the completion of the scrutiny and recount, the court has scheduled a mention for final submissions on the merits of the petition on April 22, 2026, during which the parties will provide observations on the Deputy Registrar’s report.