Voter adds to Sonko's woes with new court case
The then Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko before Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Ooko at the Milimani Law Courts on October 6, 2020, during the hearing of his Sh14 million graft case.
A voter has moved to court seeking to stop the Nairobi by-election and the vetting of Ms Anne Kananu Mwenda for the position of deputy governor.
Josephat Kariuki Ng’endo turned to court on Monday, seeking to join a case by activist Peter Odhiambo Agoro, who is challenging Ms Mwenda’s nomination.
Mr Ng'endo says that Mr Sonko nominated Ms Mwenda while facing three corruption cases that saw him barred from discharging his duties as governor.
He also says that pending determination of Mr Agoro's case on the legality of the nomination, the vetting must be shelved for now.
Mr Ng'endo also argues that since Mr Sonko has challenged his impeachment, all pending cases touching on gubernatorial issues should be determined first.
The applicant has named the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) as an interested party in the case so he can shed more light on the impeached governor's cases.
Justice James Makau will rule on Thursday on Mr Ng'endo's application to join Mr Agoro's case.
Crisis looming
The deputy governor's post has not been filled since Mr Polycarp Igathe resigned in January 2018. The law says that a new governor shall nominate a person to fill the vacancy within 14 days after assuming office.
But Governor Sonko has been impeached and Speaker Benson Mutura sworn in as the acting governor.
A constitutional crisis is looming, however, as Mr Sonko was reprieved on Monday by a High Court ruling that suspended the gubernatorial by-election slated for February 18 until his case challenging the legality of his impeachment is concluded.
Justice Antony Charo Mrima suspended implementation of the Gazette notice of December 21, 2020, published by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), following Governor Sonko’s impeachment by the Senate four days earlier.
Mr Mutura was sworn in as acting governor for a period of 60 days, pending the by-election.
He took the oath of office pursuant to Article 182 of the Constitution since Nairobi had no governor or deputy governor to run its affairs.
Sonko’s arguments
Mr Sonko is challenging the legality of the impeachment process for several reasons.
One of his claims is that the proceedings at the assembly could not have been free and fair because there were many threats and cases of blackmail and intimidation. These, he says, stifled proper debating.
Mr Sonko cites the Supreme Court ruling on the impeachment of Embu Governor Martin Wambora in his arguments about an alleged flawed process.
But the matter becomes murky since Article 182 (1)(e) and 4 of the Constitution is the one which generated the by-election he is challenging.
He may file another case to reclaim his office if Mr Mutura's 60 days as acting governor lapse before his case is concluded. It is not clear what would happen under such circumstances and if the acting governor would be in that office legally.
Justice Mrima set the hearing of Mr Sonko’s case for January 14.
