Babu Owinos political fate as Embakasi East MP now hangs in the balance after he failed to respond to a petition filed against him within the stipulated timelines as required by law.

Owino who was only sworn a few weeks ago, had been taken to court by Jubilee candidate Francis Wambugu Mureithi who challenged his win during the August 8 polls.

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In the case, Mureithi named named Owino, Nicholas Buttuk who was the returning officer and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as first, second and third respondents respectively.

According to the law, Owino was supposed to respond to the suit within seven days but he failed to do so.

The deadline for responding to the suit lapsed last week on Friday, September 15.

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Mureithi now wants the court to order that Owino had conceded the petition.

"It is now over 12 days from the service of the petition upon Mr Owino and since then no steps have been taken. Therefore the only inference to make is that he has conceded to the petition. No known excuse is available to him for non-compliance," Ham Lagat, who is representing Mureithi in the case told Nairobi News.