WILSON ONG'ELE OCHOLA V. ORANGE DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT, ORANGE DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT NATIONAL ELECTIONS BOARD, ABEL OSUMBA ATITO & INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL & BOUNDARIES COMMISSION

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

The central issue in this appeal is whether the name of the appellant, Wilson Ong’ele Ochola is validly on the ballot paper as the Orange Democratic Party (ODM) candidate for election to the office of Member of County Assembly (MCA), Utalii Ward, Nairobi County. The elections are due to be held tomorrow, 8th August 2017. Due to the extreme urgency of the appeal and its peculiar circumstances, we are constrained to render our judgment now and reserve the reasons therefor to a date which we shall specify shortly.

The main protagonists in this appeal are the appellant and the 3rd respondent, Abel Osumba Atito. Both offered themselves to be nominated by ODM as its candidate for the office of MCA, Utalii Ward in Nairobi County during the party primaries held on 30th April 2017. The 3rd respondent was declared the winner. After that it was one application after another, one appeal after another. In all, the parties have litigated before ODM’s Disputes Tribunal, three tim…