NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 7 – Gatundu North MP Anne Wanjiku was dealt a blow on Wednesday after the High Court nullified her election.
Judge Weldon Korir declared the election of the first time MP unconstitutional on grounds that she was not qualified to vie for the parliamentary seat as she was still serving as a nominated MCA in 2013.
Wanjiku’s election had been nullified in 2018 but the Court of Appeal overturned the decision giving her a temporary relief but former MP Clement Waibara, the main competitor, lodged another petition before the Constitutional Court.
Upon hearing issues raised by the former lawmaker, Justice Korir declared the seat vacant on grounds that her election was in violation of the law.
The judge directed the decision to be forwarded to the Speaker of National Assembly for appropriate action.
Waibara argued that Wanjiku, while serving as MCA with all the benefits and responsibilities accorded to that position, tendered her application to the Jubilee Party for nomination to contest the 2017 MP election as the party’s candidate.
In July 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that anomalies found in the August 8, 2017 election results were administrative errors, which were not substantial to nullify Wanjiku’s election.
However, Waibara contended that the petition raised constitutional questions on whether MP Wanjiku was qualified to vie for the parliamentary seat since at the time of the polls she had not resigned as a nominated MCA for Kiambu County Assembly.
The Appellate Court concurred with him saying the High Court did not conclusively determine the constitutional question raised and ordered fresh hearing.
“The appellant has raised a new question for interpretation under article 105 (1) (B) of the Constitution that has not been determined by any competent court. We find that the trial court erred in equating the contest herein as being based on the validity of the election of the legislator,” declared Justices Asike Makhandia, Fatuma Sichale and Jamilla Mohammed.
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