Court throws out petition on Sh360m

Kenya: An attempt by 58 small political parties to have a share of Sh360 million funding by the Government was dealt a blow yesterday after a court dismissed their application.

The parties had moved to court seeking to stop the Registrar of Political Parties from distributing the political parties’ funds to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), The National Alliance (TNA) and United Republican Party (URP), arguing that they had been unfairly sidelined.

Dismissing the application, High Court judge Mumbi Ngugi said the court did not have jurisdiction to hear the suit because an appeal was pending in the Court of Appeal.

Justice Ngugi said following filing of the suit in the appellate court, the matter was certified as urgent but the higher court did not grant the orders that had been sought by the parties.

“I am not satisfied that the appeal would be rendered nugatory if the orders sought are not rendered,” she said.

REGISTRAR UNRESTRAINED

Political Parties Forum Coalition, Muungano Party and Kenya National Congress among many others wanted the court to block the Registrar of Political Parties from disbursing the money until an appeal they had filed is heard and determined.

Through lawyer Charles Kanjama, the parties argued that the Registrar of Political Parties was scheduled to have started distributing the money on August 29, but they had been excluded in the process.

“The registrar is presently unrestrained and unless an injunction is issued, the money will be released notwithstanding the fact that the petitioners are entitled to the money and therefore irretrievably prejudicing their rights,” Mr Kanjama said.