Kenya’s Chief Justice Martha Koome has formally launched a high-stakes election petition that could see the parliamentary seat for Mbeere North in Embu County declared vacant, after two voters challenged the eligibility of the winning candidate over a late name change.
A gazette notice published on 5 December assigned the case, Election Petition E1 of 2025, to Justice Richard Mwongo at the Embu High Court, invoking the constitutional six-month deadline for resolving parliamentary election disputes.
The petitioners, Julieta Karigi Kithumbu and Patrick Gitonga Gichoni, are seeking to nullify the victory of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Leo Wa Muthende Njeru and force a fresh by-election.
At the heart of the dispute is a deed poll dated 3 September 2024 in which Mr Njeru renounced his previous name, Leonard Muriuki Njeru, and adopted the name under which he campaigned and was declared winner.
The petitioners argue that Kenya’s electoral law is clear: only persons registered as voters may contest parliamentary seats. They claim the voters’ register for Mbeere North still carries the candidate’s former name, Leonard Muriuki Njeru, and that no person by the name Leo Wa Muthende Njeru was registered to vote, and therefore eligible to stand, when nominations closed.
They further allege that nomination papers were submitted using identity documents bearing the old name, which they say compounds the irregularity and renders the entire election “election” of an unregistered person” null and void.
The respondents listed in the suit are the declared MP Leo Wa Muthende Njeru, Patrick Gitonga Gichoni (one of the petitioners who also ran in the election), the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), and the Mbeere North returning officer.
In their application filed on 1 December, the petitioners asked the court to certify the matter as urgent, citing the constitutional imperative for certainty in legislative representation.
Justice Mwongo is now expected to issue directions for a pre-trial conference, after which hearing dates will be fixed. Under Kenyan law, election petitions challenging the validity of a National Assembly seat must be concluded within six months of filing.
