Legal team of Dr. Mahama Tia Kabiru, a technical advisor at the Office of the Vice-President has expressed displeasure the decision of the Tamale High Court, nullifying its client’s election as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP’s) parliamentary candidate for the Walewale Constituency.
Samson Lardi Anyenini, lead counsel of Dr. Kabiru’s legal team said they adduced inconvertible evidence during the court’s hearings to prove that the plaintiff Hajia Lariba Zuweiratu masterminded the electoral malpractices that occurred in the January 27 parliamentary primary.
As a result, the team expected the court to punish Hajia Lariba for her alleged misconduct and not give a ruling that inures to her benefit.
Samson Anyenini argued that the court’s ruling nullifying Dr. Kabiru’s victory and ordering a rerun of the primary is a miscarriage of justice and a reward for wrongdoing.
“Once the plaintiff Lariba Zuweira was found to be the one who got the people impersonating the dead, sick people and who got the people impersonating the absentees, she must not benefit from her wrong. The law is that if you commit a wrong, you must not benefit,” he told press people.
“So our expectation was that the court would say ‘yes, we found this that it happened but the person who did that is the one who has come to court so she must suffer and not get a judgement in her favor’”.
The Tamale High Court, today September 2, 2024, annulled the results of the January primary which saw Dr. Kabiru emerge winner and ordered a rerun of the election.
The court had in June placed an injunction on the 35-year-old PhD holder and Technical Advisor at the Office of the Vice-President from holding himself as the elected parliamentary candidate of the NPP in the constituency.
This was after his main contender in the internal election and Member of Parliament for the area, Hajia Lariba Zuweiratu filed a suit at the Tamale High Court, challenging the outcome of the keenly contested primary.
Hajia Lariba was defeated in the January 27 primary in the constituency after she polled 338 votes to trail Dr. Kabiru, who obtained 345 votes.
She, however, rejected the outcome and subsequently filed a suit at the court, alleging electoral irregularities and malpractices by the party, Dr. Kabiru and the Electoral Commission.
Dr. Kabiru, however, countered her allegations, accusing her of masterminding the irregularities and malpractices that occurred in the election and thus, urged the court to dismiss her suit.
But the court, in June 2024, granted the MP’s request to restrain the 35-year-old PhD holder from holding himself as the party’s parliamentary candidate for the 2024 elections and has, on September 2, 2024, annulled the results of the January primary and ordered for a rerun.
The full judgement, according to the presiding judge Richard Kogyapwah will be ready on September 12, 2024.
Reacting to the ruling, Dr. Kabiru said he is baffled that his main contender would commit an illegality and seek to use same to punish him.
“You’ve committed illegality and you’re in court, trying to use the same illegality to punish someone. I have never seen such kind of injustice”.
The ruling comes barely a week to the filing of parliamentary and presidential nominations for the December 7 elections.
