Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has been ordered to seek legal direction from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) after the electoral body barred him from contesting in the August 9 polls.
The High Court sitting in Nairobi said it has no jurisdiction to decide whether Sonko and former Kiambu County Executive Committee Member (CECM), Karungo Wa Thang’wa, should be barred from seeking elective posts.
According to the three-judge bench team led by Justice David Majanja, Sonko and Thang’wa should explore all options before IEBC’s dispute resolution mechanism before seeking the court’s direction.
“We find and hold that petitions relating to the nomination process concerning Mike Sonko, Paul Thang’wa and Samuel Arama are premature. We lack jurisdiction to entertain the petition on integrity issues about Sonko and others,” the judges ruled.
Sonko and Thang’wa had been sued by voters and civil society groups challenging their eligibility to contest in the August election on grounds that they had been impeached.
IEBC boss Wafula Chebukati in an earlier decision said Sonko and other leaders impeached from public office were not eligible to hold any other public office.
Sonko moved to the High Court to contest the decision arguing that he still has a case challenging his impeachment before the courts.
His legal team while appearing before the IEBC dispute tribunal asked the committee to overturn the decision by the Mombasa County Returning Officer who declined to clear him until the High Court in Nairobi made its ruling.
