(KDRTV) – The High Court has suspended the Nairobi Gubernatorial by-election until the hearing and determination of a petition filed by ex-city Governor Mike Sonko.
In a ruling on Monday, High Court Judge Antony Mrima, said there was a need to halt the by-election process because both the ex-governor and the county assembly of Nairobi had presented arguments that ought to be listened to.
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Sonko moved to court to protest his impeachment, claiming that the Nairobi County Assembly did not follow procedure when sending him to political gallows on December 3, 2020.
The Senate, on December 18, overwhelmingly affirmed the County Assembly’s decision to impeach Sonko over four charges. The Governor was accused of gross violation of the constitution, abuse of office, misconduct, and crimes against national law.
Nairobi Governor by-election suspended pending determination of a petition filed by impeached Mike Sonko, High Court rules. pic.twitter.com/xMbeJZ5nqv
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) January 4, 2021
Sonko has always argued that the county assembly did not meet the mandatory two-thirds threshold to conduct an impeachment. The Governor was with a section of MCAs in Kwale, at the time the impeachment motion was discussed.
Read Also: Sonko Narrowly Escapes Death
The High court’s decision throws another spanner in city politics, as the fate of the Nairobi Governor remains unknown.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) already gazetted February 18, as the date of the by-election. IEBC invited political parties to submit nominations for candidates on or before December 28, 2020.
Interestingly, ODM, whose candidate (Evans Kidero) came second in the 2017 race opted out of the race and announced it would support a Jubilee candidate. Jubilee is yet to decide on who between Dennis Waweru and Agnes Kagure should be the party’s flagbearer.
On Sunday, it emerged that Senate Majority Whip Irungu Kang’ata had written a letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta, warning him that the party would perform dismally in the Nairobi by-election.
As this continues, there rumors that there may be no election in the Capital, and political players are working on having Anne Mwenda Kananu, who had been nominated as Deputy Governor, to take over the helm of the city.
