Former Nairobi governor, Mike Sonko, has accused the Supreme Court of tricking him prior to upholding a ruling that barred him from contesting an election on the grounds of impeachment.
Sonko claimed that the apex court made him believe that its president, Chief Justice Martha Koome, would not be part of the bench that ruled on his case.
Speaking to NTV on Saturday, July 15, Sonko opined that Koome should not have been part of the bench having made public her stance on the case.
He claimed that the CJ should have recused herself.
"She was on record on Spice FM stating that I should not be allowed to run. The court wrote to me stating that the matter would be decided by a five-judge bench, so I thought I was safe and that there was no need for me to file a petition challenging the presence of Koome.
"When I arrived in court, we found her seated on the bench. We asked her to withdraw herself from the hearing, but she refused," Sonko claimed.
He added that while the Supreme Court admitted to not giving him nor the respondents time to file their rejoinder and responses respectively, the July 13 midday deadline he was accorded was not enough.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, constitutional lawyer Boniface Mkangi stated that while the accusations by Sonko held water, they may not stand in this situation.
"There could be issues around her having made up her mind around the issue, perhaps, or generally impeachment and not necessarily Sonko's case.
"She gave her legal opinion but that does not mean she made up her mind on this particular case," he stated.
He further poked holes in the accusations, explaining that the ruling by the Supreme Court was a summary and thus be difficult to determine CJ Koome's independent ruling on the matter.
Mkangi added that Sonko has an option of challenging the ruling at the East African Court of Justice but maintained that his fate on the election had been sealed.
"He can raise the concerns with the regional court but he would probably get a statement on the same and maybe damages," he explained.
