Kethi Kilonzo attacks credibility of IEBC move to deny her ticket

By ISAIAH LUCHELI and MOSES NJAGIH

Nairobi, Kenya: Lawyer Kethi Kilonzo has asked the High Court to overturn a decision by the electoral body’s tribunal to nullify her nomination for the Makueni Senate by-election.

Kilonzo also wants the court to suspend the official campaign period for the by-election until the case she has filed is heard and determined.

In the application submitted Wednesday, Kethi questions the validity of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC’s) tribunal saying it is an interested party and should therefore not have sat in judgment on itself.

Kethi charges that the tribunal is part and parcel of the IEBC and sat as a judge over the commission’s collective actions, mistakes and failures directly linked to the complaints to be determined.

“The IEBC, the tribunal and the Makueni returning officer had already taken a predetermined position on the complaints against Kethi, and amply demonstrated their lack of intention to give her a fair hearing on the issue,” submitted her lawyers.

The case will be heard this morning when Kethi is expected to argue that she was validly nominated by Wiper to run for Makueni Senate seat and should be allowed to join the race.

In the court battle, Kethi wants IEBC compelled to include her name in the register of voters in NCC social hall, as she was a duly registered voter. In her suit, Kethi argues that the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee acted outside the jurisdiction conferred upon it by the Constitution and the Elections Act.

Conflict of interest

“Once the returning officer issued the certificate to Kethi any dispute therefrom fell under the jurisdiction of the High Court,” submitted the lawyer.

She argued that her fundamental rights under Articles 20 and 47 (1 and 2) of the Constitution were contravened when IEBC denied her the right to administrative action that is lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair.

Kethi contends that complaints against her and the party were not filed in the interest of the general public or to uphold the Constitution as alleged by the IEBC and the tribunal.

She complains of bias and conflict of interest by the tribunal and challenged the IEBC over issues in the voters’ register, its custody and that of all other relevant materials and records relevant to solving complaints.

As Kethi was filing her case, Jubilee alliance leaders were ripping into their Cord coalition counterparts who on Tuesday blamed the ruling coalition for Keith’s tribulations. Kethi and the Wiper Democratic Party went to court under a certificate of urgency demanding an order to suspend the official campaign period pending the determination of the suit she has filed.

Her party Wiper wants the court to issue a declaration that it had a right to nominate another candidate to contest in the by-election in the event that the IEBC’s tribunal decision revoking the nomination of Kethi was upheld.

“We seek an injunction restraining the IEBC from further preparations of the Makueni by-election, making, printing, publishing election materials including ballot papers,” she submitted.

Through lawyers Harun Ndumbi and Julie Soweto, Kethi and the party also asked the court to quash the decision of the tribunal that barred her from contesting the by-election terming it as a violation her rights.

Outside, the court, a harsh exchange of words between leaders from the Jubilee and CORD escalated as TNA warned it will take legal action against Wiper leader and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

Electoral fraud

The party’s legal team, led by Jasper Mbiuki, is studying video and audio tapes of the Press Conference held at Serena and will be seeking relevant redress so as to ensure politicians are held to account on what they claim and allege in Public.

Senators from the Jubilee Coalition urged their CORD colleagues to take responsibility for allegedly aiding their aspirant in the Makueni by-election, Kethi Kilonzo to abet a crime of electoral fraud.

They claimed the CORD leadership coerced Kethi to contest, and led her to commit a fraud by illegally obtaining IEBC registration documents to enable her run in the July 22 elections. Led by Majority Leader in the Senate Prof Kithure Kindiki, Jubilee scoffed at Kalonzo Musyoka’s claims that TNA had deleted Kethi’s name from IEBC register.

He claimed the utterances were a diversionary tactic to steer the public’s attention from the serious crime of electoral fraud facing their candidate.

 “We are shocked by the malicious and alarmist statement made by Kalonzo, which we feel is a desperate attempt to divert attention from the serious crime of fraud, forgery and a myriad other electoral offences which have been exposed,” alleged Prof Kindiki.

He claimed CORD’s leadership should explain how security documents in the custody of IEBC were found with Kethi, even as they called on investigators to dig into the crime and prosecute those responsible for theft.

Jubilee senators alleged that Kethi was a victim of intimidation and coercion by CORD leaders and now faces the possibility of ending up in jail.