Former Nairobi governor, Mike Mbuvi Sonko, has been handed a lifeline after the court ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to clear him to run for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat.
The court on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, ruled that IEBC was unreasonable for refusing to accept certified copies of Sonko’s academic papers outside the stipulated timeline.
The three-Judge bench of justices O.A. Sewe, S. Githinji and Lady Justice Ong'injo ruled that Sonko had met all the requirements set by the IEBC to contest for the Mombasa top seat.
Justice Githinji ordered the IEBC to gazette Mike Sonko as Wiper candidate in the Mombasa governorship race.
IEBC had refused to receive Sonko's papers on grounds that he was previously impeached.
However, the court stated that the electoral agency's decision to reject Sonko's papers violated the constitution because an appeal against his impeachment was pending at the Supreme Court.
The bench had earlier stopped Wiper Party from nominating another candidate pending the hearing of the petition.
IEBC gazetted candidates cleared to contest for various elective seats in the 2022 General Election and Sonko's name was not on the list.
This raised eyebrows since some of the candidates whose eligibility to vie in the August polls had been contested were cleared.
The Mombasa Governor seat will be contested by Sonko (Wiper Party) Bollo Hezron Awiti (Vibrant Democratic Party), Hassan Omar (UDA), Jama Amin Ali (PAA), Mwaruwa Abdalla Hemed (Independent), Nzaro Salim Omar (UPIA), Nassir Abdullswamad Sheriff (ODM) and Omari Said Abdalla (Usawa Kwa Wote Party).
While releasing the names of politicians who were barred on June 4, 2022, Chebukati defended his decision of barring Sonko, arguing that he was removed from office for abuse of public office.
"A person who is removed from office on contravention of Chapter 6 of the Constitution is disqualified from holding office, elective or appointed," Chebukati had previously stated.
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