NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 25 -Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has secured orders from the Supreme Court barring the swearing in of acting Governor Anne Kananu.
The orders were issued on Monday by Justice Mohammed Ibrahim who certified Sonko’s application urgent.
The orders directed to the county’s Assumption of Office, the Governor’s Committee and Nairobi City County will be in force for 14 days.
“I have granted the prayers for a limited period of 14 days pending inter parties hearing of the said motion in terms of provisions of section 24 of the Supreme Court act of 2017,” the judge ordered.
Sonko filed the case after the Court of Appeal declined to stop Kananu’s swearing in last week in which judges Wanjiru Karanja, Jama Mohamed and Jessie Lesiit ruled that the former Governor had not objected to the swearing in at the High Court.
In his petition, Sonko pleaded with the court to grant him orders stopping the swearing in of Kananu, saying he stands to lose the opportunity to complete his term as Governor of Nairobi County, in which he was impeached in December 2020 over abuse office among other charges.
“There is only one possible scenario that could emerge if the orders sought are not granted. I will lose forever my opportunity to complete my constitutional gubernatorial term if my appeal succeeds,” he told the Supreme Court.
Justice Ibrahim further urged Chief Justice Martha Koome to empanel a bench of the court to hear the application once the conservatory period ends.
The Appellate court bench also ruled that former Governor Mike Sonko has been out of office for more than 10 months and is effectively no longer the governor of Nairobi.
In the case, Sonko moved to the Court of Appeal in a bid to convince the court to halt the swearing in of Kananu until his appeal is heard and determined.
He said he was apprehensive that should Kananu become the substantive Governor, then his appeal would be rendered useless and that even if he was to succeed and the court was to find that his impeachment was improper, then it would mean that he would not be able to return to his former office as Nairobi governor.
The process to kick Sonko from office commenced on November 26, 2020, when a notice of motion for his removal was lodged with the Clerk of the Nairobi City County Assembly by a Embakasi ward representative Michael Ogada.
The clerk then invited the former governor to appear before the Committee of the Nairobi County Assembly on December 3, 2020, where motion for his impeachment was filed.
Subsequently, on the same date, the assembly passed a resolution under Article 181 of the Constitution as read with Section 33 of the County Governments Act before the Senate voted to remove Sonko from office on December 17, 2020.
Following his impeachment, the Nairobi County Speaker was sworn in as Acting Governor before Kananu was vetted and sworn in as Deputy Governor.
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