The Political Parties Dispute Tribunal has nullified the nomination of Tim Wanyonyi as the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) parliamentary nominee for the Westlands constituency.
The tribunal further directed the party to hold fresh nominations within 72 hours.
The ruling was delivered after Michael Magero Gumo moved to court challenging ODM for handing the nomination certificate to the incumbent Legislator despite him not participating in the primaries.
"We hereby allow the application filed by the petitioner on this matter, consequently we hereby nullify the nomination certificate issued to Tim Wanyonyi and order the ODM party to conduct a fresh nomination exercise for the Westlands MP within 72 hours," the Tribunal ruled.
Michael Magero Gumo, the son of veteran politician Fred Gumo, argued in court that Wanyonyi did not participate in the nomination exercise but was declared the winner by the party.
According to lawyer Duncan Okatch, Magero won the party primaries after garnering 1,661 votes with former City Clerk, Phillip Kisia, garnering 627 votes.
Okatch further stated that his client spent millions of shillings to marshall support for his parliamentary bid and should, therefore, be handed the party's ticket.
The petitioner sued ODM's National Elections Board (NEB) aiming to stop the party from forwarding Wanyonyi's name to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
"I personally spent a lot of resources and time to marshall support for my bid. The results were publicly announced thus giving me the legitimate expectation that I would be issued with the certificate," Magero told the court.
In its response, ODM stated that the NEB will meet and deliberate before giving the way forward.
"Journalists from various media houses have been calling to inquire about the party’s position on the verdict by the PPDT regarding the nomination of Tim Wanyonyi as the candidate for Westlands. The relevant organ of the party will meet and give direction in due course," the ODM statement read.
Wanyonyi had expressed interest in the Nairobi Governor’s race, but dropped his bid after Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition agreed to back Polycarp Igathe and Philip Kaloki as his deputy.
The Westlands MP, who has served since 2013, resorted to defending his seat and facing off against lawyer Nelson Havi.
ODM party resolved to hand Wanyonyi the nomination ticket since they had scuttled his plans to vie for the governor's seat.
