The debate around the validity of Polycarp Igathe's resignation as Nairobi Deputy Governor has resurfaced setting in motion a plan to have Igathe succeed former Governor Mike Sonko.
Mihango MCA Paul Kados moved to court seeking the court's clarity on Igathe's position and halting the upcoming by-elections.
He argued that Igathe never officially tendered his resignation and hence should, according to the Constitution, be allowed to complete the remainder of Sonko’s term.
Two other Kenyans, Evans Oruenjo (an advocate) and Patrick Mwangi Kiiru (a Nairobi voter) also filed two more petitions stating that the gazette notice declaring the Nairobi gubernatorial seat vacant was premature.
The duo in their separate petitions added that the subsequent planned by-election on February 18 was also unnecessary as Polycarp Igathe who was elected alongside Mike Sonko in 2017 had not officially resigned.
Oruenjo and Kiiru also argued that Igathe’s resignation originated from media reports in 2018 and that neither the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) nor the Nairobi County Assembly received his formal resignation.
Igathe quit on January 12, 2018, after alleging to have fallen out with Sonko who was then impeached by the Senate in December 2020.
The three petitions further compound the challenges IEBC is facing in organising the by-election. A voter who had earlier petitioned a Nairobi court to stop Anne Kananu Mwenda's assumption of office as Deputy Governor filed a motion to withdraw the petition on January 4, 2021.
The city politician had been nominated as Deputy Governor by Sonko before the latter exited the office. Kananu will take over as governor if the case is withdrawn and other legal hurdles are health with.
Mwenda's reprieve came hours after the High Court suspended the Nairobi by-election until a petition filed by Sonko is heard and determined.
Other interested parties in the by-election are reading malice from the petitions in court, with Thirdway Alliance Secretary General Fred Okang'o claiming that there is a plot to permanently halt the elections. Thirdway fronted exiled lawyer Miguna Miguna as their candidate.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on December 19, 2020, lawyer Nelson Havi also spoke on the prospect of President Uhuru Kenyatta frustrating the IEBC into bypassing a by-election in Nairobi county and handing full power to the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).
"We don't need General Mohamed Badi (NMS boss) anymore. We need our civilian government back. We will block any attempts to undermine the Constitution," the Law Society of Kenya President said.
