Court of Appeal has barred National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi and IEBC from declaring Gatundu North seat vacant and ordering a by-election pending the hearing and determination of Wanjiku Kibe’s appeal.
Kibe moved to the Appellate Court to challenge Justice Weldon Korir’s declaration of her seat vacant and restraining IEBC from ordering a by-election earlier this month.
But the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, October 9, granted the embattled MP an appeal by restraing the National Assembly and the electoral commission from declaring her seat vacant or ordering a by-electiong pending the conclusion of the case.
“Having looked at all the proposed grounds of appeal, we do not entertain any doubt that the intended appeal is arguable. As has been held in various decisions of this Court such as Stanley Kangethe Kinyanjui v Tony Ketter & Others, an arguable point is not one that must succeed, but one which ought to be argued fully,” the three-judge bench.
The judges said that a notice of appeal operates as an automatic stay of the judgment of the High Court.
“If [Muturi] orders a by-election…. and the intended appeal succeeds it would create a situation not at all in the public interest. The appeal would be rendered nugatory,” the judges held.
Kibe is fighting to finish her term as MP after the High Court declared her election to have been a violation of Article 99 (2)(a) and (d) of the Constitution after failing to resign from office while participating in Jubilee Party primaries.
