Bitter pill as William Kabogo loses case against Ferdinand Waititu

Kiambu Governor William Kabogo has lost his bid to block Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu from challenging him in next year's elections.

High Court Judge Joseph Onguto dismissed Mr Kabogo's application questioning Mr Waititu's integrity and academic qualifications, setting the stage for a titanic battle between the two for the Kiambu gubernatorial seat in 2017.

"The court lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine the allegations raised by the petitioner. There are other constitutional institutions tasked with determining the integrity and academic credentials of political aspirants," Justice Onguto ruled.

On Waititu's integrity, the judge said Kabogo should have filed his complaint at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission instead of approaching the High Court.

Onguto said it is only the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission that is mandated to determine the academic qualifications of a person vying for any elective position and that the petition lacked merit warranting court action.

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"Having found that the court has no jurisdiction to determine the questions raised, I also decline to forward the file to the Chief Justice to constitute a bench as requested by the petitioner," Onguto said.

As a punishment for Kabogo for suing the Kabete lawmaker over academic credentials, Onguto ordered that he pays the MP the cost of spending time in court defending himself.