Two Kiambu voters have moved to court seeking to quash UDA senatorial candidate Paul Karungo Thang’wa’s certificate of nomination dated 20th April for Kiambu Senatorial seat.
Charles Maina Kariuki and Samwel Kahara Macharia also want an order to compel Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) to remove Thang’wa’s name from the ballot for the 9th August general election.
The two voters wants the court to declare that the resolution of the County Assembly of Kiambu passed on 19th November to dismiss Thang’wa from his position of County Executive Committee member for Youth Affairs, Sports, ICT and Communication constitutes dismissal or removal.
The voters also want the court to declare that UDA party contravened the law by nominating Thang’wa as a candidate to contest for Kiambu senator
They further want the court to declare that the refusal of former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu to act on the said county assembly resolution to dismiss him from his position as county assembly member does not negate or otherwise compromise the validity of the said resolution under article 75(3) and 99(2) (H) of the constitution.
The voters further want the court to declare that Waititu acted unlawfully in declining to act on resolution passed to dismiss Thang’wa from his County Executive Committee member position.
Kariuki and Macharia want the file to be forwarded to the Chief Justice to constitute a three judge bench to hear and determine the matter.
Failure by constitutional bodies
The petitioners argue that the various actors of the electoral process including the High Court have a constitutional obligation to ensure that any candidate who is not eligible to contest for election to a state office shall not be registered as a candidate for the election.
“The first respondent has been registered as a candidate for the seat of senator for Kiambu County on account of failure by various constitutional bodies and organs to do their work properly or diligently enough,” the petitioners claim.
It is also their argument that the Supreme Court has interpreted the law to the effect that after the general elections, the question of Thang’wa’s disqualification or ineligibility to contest for the seat cannot be raised through an election petition.
