Legal battles facing Johnson Sakaja’s governorship bid are on the rise, after three more voters filed separate cases on Thursday seeking his disqualification from the elections.
The petitioners -David Gitau, Antony Macharia Munene and Timothy Charo Odhiambo -want the court to endorse the decision of the Commission for University Education (CUE), revoking the recognition of Mr Sakaja’s degree from Team University, Uganda.
The petitions were filed on the eve of the day the High Court is set to render judgment in a related case filed by voter Dennis Gakuu Wahome on validity of the Nairobi senator's degree certificate.
In the fresh suits, the petitioners argued that Mr Sakaja is ineligible based on the CUE’s letter dated June 30, 2022 addressed to the electoral commission indicating that the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate had no valid degree certificate.
CUE had stated that its investigations had established that Mr Sakaja was never admitted to the Kampala-based University.
In the new cases, which were consolidated yesterday by Justice Anthony Mrima, the petitioners have also sued the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for declining to disqualify Mr Sakaja from the contest.
They are aggrieved by IEBC’s decision to dismiss the CUE’s letter.
They are also aggrieved by the electoral commission’s reasoning that the only way to compel it to reverse its decision in clearing Mr Sakaja, is through a court order setting aside the decision by the commission’s Disputes Resolution Committee (DRC).
IEBC’s Dispute Resolution Committee had thrown out a petition that was challenging his nomination, stating that it lacked investigative powers and it could only rely on a criminal conviction against Mr Sakaja for it to deem the degree certificate as invalid.
But the new petitioners said the IEBC committed an illegality by disregarding advise of the CUE.
Dismissing the letter
According to them, by dismissing the letter, the electoral commission abdicated its mandate of ensuring that candidates for election are duly qualified for those positions.
“The IEBC in spite of new evidence regarding qualification of a candidate for the position of a governor abdicated its responsibility and declined to exercise its authority. The conduct and performance of the IEBC offends the spirit and letter of the Constitution,” said Mr Macharia, one of the petitioners.
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Through lawyer Guandaru Thuita, the voters said IEBC has been mandated by the Constitution, the IEBC Act and the Elections Act with the power to hear and determine pre-election disputes.
“The position taken by the IEBC that it cannot determine a dispute relating to the authenticity of a disputed Degree Certificate is an absolute abdication of its responsibility and a failure to act in discharge of a duty imposed under any written law,” said Mr Macharia.
The petitions will be heard on July 12, 2022 by Justice Hedwig Ong’undi at the High Court in Milimani.
Pending determination of the petitions, they want court to issue interim orders suspending the IEBC’s decision clearing Mr Sakaja to vie for the governor’s position.
They also want temporary orders barring IEBC from publishing in the Kenya Gazette or printing ballots, the details of Mr Sakaja as a contestant for the position of Governor of Nairobi.
jwangui@ke.nationmedia.com
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