Nairobi — Embattled former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko has now moved to court under a certificate of urgency to challenge the decision by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to disqualify him from the Mombasa gubernatorial race.
The matter which has since been forwarded to the judge comes more than 10 days after the Supreme Court ruling that upheld his impeachment as Nairobi Governor.
“In adherence to the Supreme Court judgment, you are, therefore, disqualified from holding any public office and thus disqualified from contesting and being elected as the Governor of Mombasa County or any other county,” said the commission’s Mombasa Returning Officer Swalhah Yusuf in a letter dated July 18.
However, in the fresh petition, Sonko argued that by the time the electoral agency was revoking his certificate, he had already filed for a review at the Supreme Court as well as at the East African court of justice.
Sonko further described the decision by the Wafula Chebukati-led Commission as irrational and unreasonable.
He added that the decision was made without consideration of his rights and the rights of Mombasa County voters.
“The impugned decision was arrived at in an opaque and arbitrary manner and there is no explanation on what criteria guided the process considering that the 1st Respondent (Mombasa County Returning Officer) does not have any such powers to revoke the registration of a candidate arbitrarily and no such law was cited by the 1st Respondent in support of her illegal and unlawful action,” reads the petition by Sonko’s lawyers in part.
On July 16, Sonko filed for a review of the decision by the Supreme Court to uphold his impeachment in 2020 terming the verdict a miscarriage of justice.
Sonko faulted the apex court while taking issue with the expansion of the bench that determined the matter from five judges to all the seven justices of the Supreme Court.
“They have infringed on my rights and that is why we have filed for a review. All I want is a fair hearing and fair trial so that I can get justice,” Sonko stated.
He also contested the inclusion of Chief Justice Martha Koome on the bench saying he had already publicly taken a position on the matter outside court.
Sonko was alluding to a media interview where CJ Koome said that impeached Governors shouldn’t be allowed to contest until their impeachment is overturned by the court.
He argued that Koome’s comments were an indication that she had already taken sides.
“She shouldn’t have been part of the bench regarding my matter because already in her mind she had made an opinion that Sonko shouldn’t be on the ballot,” Sonko stated.
He also wondered how Sirisia MP John Waluke was cleared to vie despite having been convicted, yet he is being denied justice under similar circumstances.