Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has officially received the Wiper Party ticket to contest for Mombasa county gubernatorial seat.
The politician, who was impeached in Nairobi County, will be deputized by Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo who had earlier been granted a direct ticket by the Kalonzo Musyoka-led party.
Kalonzo met with Sonko and Mbogo to end the stalemate which had hit the party over the ticket.
The development now sets the stage for a titanic battle that will see the Azimio coalition field two candidates - Sonko and Mvita MP Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir who has bagged the ODM ticket.
The Kenya Kwanza coalition has former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar as its candidate.
Sonko was officially welcomed to Wiper by party leader Kalonzo Musyoka on March 25. He faced an integrity test in his quest for a political comeback but the IEBC clarified that candidates with graft cases will be allowed to vie.
His eligibility to run for an elective seat was contentious given that the constitution advocates for the disqualification of aspirants found, in accordance with any law, to have misused or abused a State office or public office.
But the electoral body stated that it cannot prevent anyone from contesting the August polls based on a High Court ruling in 2013 which allowed Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto to run for office despite facing charges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Sonko was impeached by the Nairobi County Assembly, before the Senate ratified the decision, sealing his fate. Efforts by Sonko to overturn the verdict proved futile. His appeal at the Supreme Court, however, is still pending.
IEBC, in an affidavit, argued that one is legally presumed innocent until proven guilty and as such, there is no need to interfere with judicial processes.
“The commission understands the court's decision in the case against President Kenyatta and DP Ruto that we must strike a balance between the right of an individual to contest in an election and the presumption of innocence of any accused person,” the affidavit read.
IEBC was responding to a suit filed by activist Okiya Omtatah who wanted politicians of questionable integrity standing to be barred from contesting in the pools.
