NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 25 – The Safina Party has faulted the courts for intervening in political party wrangles, saying such disputes should be determined by the Political Parties Tribunal.
Party Leader and presidential candidate Paul Muite argued that the courts would be overstepping their mandate if they determined such cases without first establishing whether or not they had been raised at the tribunal.
He explained during a media roundtable that it was necessary for the courts to stay away from such disputes as that would create conflict between the established systems.
His sentiments came at a time when the party has written to the Registrar of Political Parties seeking to expel Mathira MP Ephraim Maina over allegations of indiscipline.
“The High Court has jurisdiction but after parties have exhausted the procedure laid out in the Political Parties Act. The correct procedure is to take the matter to the tribunal,” he insisted.
Muite further maintained that members of a political party should abide by the principles of the Political Parties Act as well as their party’s Constitutions.
“If you blatantly disregard your party’s rules, then the party has the right to disown you because that is impunity of the highest degree,” he quipped.
Moreover, Narc-Kenya’s Gidion Mbuvi alias Sonko and William Kabogo have also been suspended from the party. However Sonko obtained a temporary injunction blocking the move until the matter was heard.
He also urged Kenyans to shun negative ethnicity noting that it was retrogressive. Muite added that tribalism was largely to blame for the chaos that erupted after the 2007 elections saying politicians who divide Kenyans along social lines should be shunned.
“It doesn’t matter what tribe you are because we did not choose to be born into our tribes; besides the price of sugar remains the same across all tribes,” he quipped.
He further observed the role of the media in holding leaders to account as the media was the public’s watchdog.
Muite also urged women to stop shying away from positions created for them by the Constitution. He challenged them to come out and compete for the positions as they would not simply be handed over to them.
Although the Constitution demands that not more than one-third members, in either appointive or elective posts be from the same gender, women have not been applying for the positions.
The selection panel seeking commissioners for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission recently admitted that it faced an uphill task meeting the gender requirement as women’s response in the applications was poor.
Only a paltry 18.5 percent from the total submissions were from women.
“It is dangerous to allow our daughters and girls, who are as competent as men, to think that they will be given things simply because they are women,” he said.
He further challenged Kenyans to fight corruption noting that it was also retrogressive.
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