Cord plans appeal after IEBC revokes Kethi’s nomination
Kethi Kilonzo acknowledges greetings from her supporters who camped outside Milimani Court on July 06, 2013. The electoral commission’s dispute resolution tribunal found Ms Kilonzo was not a registered voter despite having an acknowledgment slip that IEBC director of registration Immaculate Kassait alleged was fraudulently obtained.
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The electoral commission’s dispute resolution tribunal found Ms Kilonzo was not a registered voter despite having an acknowledgment slip that IEBC director of registration Immaculate Kassait alleged was fraudulently obtained
Cord now has been left without a candidate for the Makueni senatorial by-election.
The three candidates who will now contest for the seat left vacant by the death of Ms Kethi’s father Mutula Kilonzo are National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) nominee Philip Kaloki, Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya leader Harun Mwau and Labour Party of Kenya’s Jane Kitundu.
Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) has been left without a candidate for the Makueni senatorial by-election after the electoral commission’s dispute resolution tribunal revoked Kethi Kilonzo’s nomination by Wiper Democratic Party.
The tribunal found Ms Kilonzo was not a registered voter despite having an acknowledgment slip that IEBC director of registration Immaculate Kassait alleged was fraudulently obtained.
“I hereby order that Kethi Kilonzo’s nomination certificate be and is hereby revoked. I order the third respondent (IEBC) to commence investigation to determine how the slip was issued,” tribunal chairman Thomas Letangule ruled on Monday.
The July 22 race will now be between three candidates.
Under the law one must be a registered voter to be eligible to vote or to vie in an election.
Wiper Democratic Party lawyer Tom Kajwang said that the party had instructed him to appeal the ruling in the High Court. The tribunal has quasi-judicial powers.
The three candidates who will contest for the seat left vacant by the death of Ms Kethi’s father Mutula Kilonzo are National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) nominee Philip Kaloki, Party of Independent Candidates of Kenya leader Harun Mwau and Labour Party of Kenya’s Jane Kitundu.
Prof Kaloki survived a hearing at the tribunal over whether he was a validly registered member of his new party after moving from Wiper to Narc, a member of the Jubilee Coalition.
The Elections Act requires one to have been a member of the sponsoring party for at least 45 days before the date of the election. Wiper and United Republican Party (URP) had also complained that Prof Kaloki was nominated outside the deadline.
“The tribunal finds that Prof Kaloki was validly nominated,” Mr Letangule said. Other members of the tribunal were IEBC commissioners Mohamed Alawi and Yusuf Nzibo.
The tribunal also ordered the Registrar of Political Parties to investigate URP, which had tried to register Prof Kaloki in a bid to have him locked out. The tribunal said Ms Kilonzo had no claim against the IEBC because she did not ascertain her voter registration status.
The tribunal said Ms Kilonzo appeared not to know the registration centre at Ngong Forest Primary School and the slip was not a proof of registration.
During hearings on Friday and Saturday Ms Kassait said the slip Ms Kilonzo had presented as proof of registration and four others was “stolen” from a booklet used to exclusively register former President Mwai Kibaki.
Activist Okiya Omutatah had earlier moved to the High Court to block the tribunal from rendering the verdicts, arguing that it was an interested party.
