The High Court has dealt a blow on self-proclaimed billionaire and Nyeri Independent Gubernatorial Candidate Thuo Mathenge after striking out his petition to have his name included in the ballot papers.
High Court Judge Abigail Muchira upheld the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission's decision to kick out the billionaire from the governorship race.
Muchira ruled against Thuo stating that the petition was premature as he should have addressed his dispute with the IEBC Disputes Resolution Committee.
Earlier in the month, IEBC kicked out Mr Mathenge from the Nyeri governorship race after a Nyeri resident filed a petition arguing that the politician did not have a degree certificate.
In response to the removal, Thuo's legal team led by Kioko Kilukumi had written to IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati stating that his client's name must be on the ballot.
The letter stated that should the IEBC fail to Gazette Thuo's name, the commission would be forced to pay the candidate a governor's salary for the period of five years.
"The decision of your commission to revoke the Certificate of Nomination of Dr Thuo Mathenge as a gubernatorial candidate for Nyeri County was suspended by the High Court on 19th June 2017.
"In the event of non-compliance of the court order, we have instructions to install contempt proceedings as well as recovery proceedings for each and every our client has expanded together with the expected remuneration for the governor's office for a full term," the letter stated.
In April, the Jubilee Party National Elections Board rejected Thuo’s candidature on grounds that he had a fake degree from a Ugandan University.
Before the tribunal's ruling, the Court of Appeal had ordered the Director of Public Prosecutions to institute investigations into the validity of the degree, which Mr Mathenge alleged was awarded to him by Ugandan-based Fairland University.
Justice James Wakiaga also supported the directive to open a probe into how the tycoon got his degree.
