Ousted as Nairobi governor in 2020 before completing his term, Mike Sonko Wednesday got a lifeline in his quest to return to county leadership as Mombasa governor.
His fourth run for elective office had run into legal headwinds, arising from his impeachment as Nairobi governor in December 2020 following abuse of office charges, and all appeared lost for him after the electoral commission left out his name from the list of candidates published in the Kenya Gazette.
But yesterday, the High Court in Mombasa quashed a decision by the electoral commission and its dispute resolution committee that had disqualified Sonko, who has been in the political cold since December 3, 2020.
On Tuesday, Sonko seemed to have regained the confidence of the powers-that-be as he joined President Kenyatta, whom he had accused of orchestrating his ouster from City Hall, at a public meeting in Nairobi.
Also in attendance were his two erstwhile rivals he had blamed for his tribulations at City Hall — his successor, Anne Kananu, and Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) director-general Lt. General Mohamed Badi.
Before joining the president at Mwiki, Sonko had been garlanded by Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua who donned him with the coalition party’s blue cap.
Mr Sonko would remark that Ms Karua “is the only woman leader who believed in me when I first ventured into politics as Makadara MP,” recalling his debut into politics in 2010 when as a little-known Narc-Kenya candidate he captured the city parliamentary seat after flooring seasoned politicians Dick Wathika and Reuben Ndolo.
So bold was Sonko that in the subsequent elections in 2013, he went for the newly created seat of Nairobi senator, which he won by garnering the most number of votes by any candidate for Senate or governor nationwide, polling even much higher than what the presidential contenders, Mr Kenyatta and Mr Odinga, had each secured in Nairobi.
Buoyed by the populism firing up his candidature, Mr Sonko in the 2017 elections toppled then Nairobi governor Evans Kidero, marking his remarkable rise to the pinnacle of the country’s politics, but he thereafter fell out with the powers-that-be leading to his impeachment in 2020.
His attempt to revive his political career got a boost Wednesday following the High Court clearance to vie for Mombasa governor on a Wiper ticket, a day after his political fortunes appeared to improve as he was embraced by the leadership of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition party.
This notwithstanding the fact his candidature for the top seat in the port city will stir conflict in the coalition given Mr Odinga’s party has also fielded Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir.
Justices Olga Sewe, Stephen Githinji and Anne Ong’injo ordered the Independent, Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Mombasa Returning Officer Swalha Ibrahim to accept nomination papers submitted by Mr Sonko.
The judges also declared that Sonko is eligible under the Constitution to contest as a candidate for the position of governor Mombasa.
The court also ruled that the electoral agency abdicated and violated Articles 3,10,47,49 and 59 of the Constitution by barring Mr Sonko from the race on the basis of his impeachment.
It cited a pending appeal at the Supreme Court (regarding his impeachment) to state the electoral agency move to reject Mr Sonko’s papers contravened the Constitution.
Sonko challenged the impeachment at the High Court and Court of Appeal, and lost, prompting him to move to the Supreme Court.
“It is our view discriminatory that the third respondent (IEBC) denied Mr Sonko candidature when he has an appeal at the Supreme Court without any legal explanation,” ruled the judges.
They noted that the electoral agency cannot feign ignorance on the appeal at the Supreme Court yet it is a respondent in the case.
This ruling means unless the Supreme Court decides on the appeal, the impeachment cannot be used against the former governor.
The court also noted when Sonko presented his nomination papers, Ms Ibrahim demanded a degree certificate and its certified copy, which he made efforts to present thus leaving no doubt the documents were presented.
“The first respondent (Ms Ibrahim) acted unfairly when she rejected the petitioner’s degree and violated his rights under the Constitution,” said the judges.
“In our view, considering the petitioner complied with requirements in the production of his degree certificate, it is possible that the media release (with additional requirements) may have escaped the petitioner,” said the judges, who noted that the petitioner made efforts to have them availed.
Certification not applicable
The court also said that provisions of the law do not require additional requirements by the electoral agency and that the degree certificate was issued by a local university hence the certification from the Commission for University Education was not applicable.
Mr Sonko and the Wiper party lauded the court’s decision, saying Mombasa residents can feel the justice of the court.
IEBC lawyers led by Mr Edwin Mukele told the court that their client is under obligation to comply with the orders of the court as a constitutional commission.
The former Nairobi governor also wanted an order issued against the Wiper Democratic Movement barring it from nominating any other candidate for the position other than himself.
Through his lawyers led by Mr Wilfred Nyamu and Dr John Khaminwa, Sonko urged the court to allow his petition, arguing that Ms Ibrahim had a duty to investigate if there was a pending appeal (relating to his impeachment) at the Supreme Court since IEBC is also a party to it.
Also in the Mombasa governor race are former senator Hassan Omar (United Democratic Alliance), Dr William Kingi (Pamoja African Alliance), Mr Daniel Munga Kitsao (Independent), Mr Hezron Awiti (Vibrant Democratic Party), Mr Said Abdalla (Usawa Kwa Wote), Mr Shafii Makazi (Upia) and Mr Antony Chitavi (United Democratic Forum).
