The appellate court declared that Kidero and his deputy Jonathan Mueke were not validly elected and set aside the judgment and decree of the High Court.
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 23 – Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero’s lawyers and those of his challenger Ferdinand Waititu have been given until June 6 to present written submissions in the appeal filed by the Governor at the Supreme Court.
The petition was briefly heard at the Supreme Court on Friday morning before it was rescheduled for June 6 to 9.
Kidero and Waititu were both in court for the hearing, accompanied by various leaders from CORD and Jubilee respectively.
“We have discussed the matter and by mutual consent and in the interest of saving time, we have decided that the petition of motion be taken out of today’s list and be heard on June 6 and 9. Within this period of time, the petitioner, the second and third respondents will have filed their written submissions at the registry,” Waititu’s lawyer Paul Muite stated while appearing before Judges Njoki Ndung’u and Mohamed Ibrahim.
He asked that the interim order preventing a by-election from taking place in Nairobi be extended further until the hearing is completed.
Afterwards, CORD leaders who had accompanied Kidero to court addressed Nairobi residents where they declared their commitment to stick with him and offer him support throughout the entire process.
“If the court decides that you are going back to the polls, Mr Governor, do not be worried. This is because all the votes that were divided when I was still moving with Mudavadi have been returned and they are all yours. What I am urging you as you continue with your work of providing services to residents of Nairobi, always come to us in CORD for ideas,” Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale stressed while addressing members of the public outside City Hall.
“There is so much that needs to be repaired in Nairobi and that is why you gave me the seat because you had confidence in me. I assure you that this was not in vain and there are many gains that we have seen during the period of time I have been in office,” Kidero stated.
Waititu had moved to the Court of Appeal after the High Court dismissed his petition seeking to have Kidero’s election victory overturned. The appellate court declared that Kidero and his deputy Jonathan Mueke were not validly elected and set aside the judgment and decree of the High Court.
The Supreme Court however reinstated Kidero and his deputy before issuing a conservatory order suspending the Appellate Court’s judgment.
It has further barred the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from declaring the seat vacant as Kidero had raised serious aspects of law which needed to be addressed.
During his submissions, Kidero’s lawyer Tom Ojienda had opined that there was a risk of the Nairobi County Assembly Speaker assuming the Governor’s office, unless a restraining order was issued.
The cross-section of CORD Senators who accompanied Kidero stated that they will do everything in their power to ensure that he retains his seat should the nullification of his election be upheld by the Supreme Court.
Moses Wetangula said that they will not just sit comfortably while their compatriot was being bundled out of office.
“If you want to know the owners of a dog, beat it and you will see fire. We are here and we are ready to deal with them ‘mundu khu mundu’ (man to man),” The Bungoma leader stated.
His sentiments were echoed by Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama who indicated that any change of leadership at this point would negatively impact Nairobi.
“When they see us like this, they will know that Kenya is our country and nobody can tunya us (take it away from us),” he declared.
Siaya Senator James Orengo expressed confidence that Kidero would prevail whichever way the ruling went.
“The seat of Nairobi Governor was decided last year and we are not repeating the elections again. Evans Kidero will continue being the governor of Nairobi,” he declared.
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