Court declines request to stop Mombasa governor election

The High Court on Friday rejected Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingi’s bid to stop gubernatorial elections scheduled for Monday.

Justice Stephen Githinji ruled that postponing the elections, which had earlier been suspended, will not be in the interest of justice and the country.

The judge also noted that in other cases relating to the postponed elections, the court had directed that they be held on Monday.

Justice Githinji further ruled that the date for the elections had been gazetted and that voters, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and political parties appeared set to hold voting.

Dr Kingi had sought to have the election postponed, arguing that the way the IEBC planned to conduct voting was unconstitutional.

“Issue an injunction to stop the elections of August 29 pending hearing and determination of issues raised in the petition,” said his lawyer Mohamed Ali.

But the IEBC’s lawyer, Titus Mutugi, told the court that other interested parties in the elections had not been notified of the application and that the court could not issue any order without their views being considered.

“We were served with the application on Thursday at 4.24pm, we have not had a chance to prepare a substantive response,” said Mr Mutugi.

Through lawyer Emmanuel Makuto, the Attorney-General told the court that the orders sought by Dr Kingi were ‘drastic’ and that candidates that would be affected by them had not been informed.

“Contestants ought to be made aware of the application. Any order would have the effect of overturning orders issued in a Kakamega court [that directed the elections to proceed]. The application is not admitted for hearing. Decline to grant any order,” Mr Makuto told the court.

In his petition, Dr Kingi, who is vying for the governor’s seat under the Pamoja African Alliance (PAA), challenged the constitutionality of the IEBC’s decision to conduct the polls.

Dr Kingi argued that the IEBC’s reliance on Section 55 B of the Elections Act to postpone the gubernatorial elections violates national values and the principles of good governance.

The IEBC, he argued, was trying to circumvent constitutional timelines for conducting the elections.