Mombasa gubernatorial aspirant Mike Sonko now claims he was unfairly locked out of the August contest by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The former Nairobi governor was dealt a blow on Monday, June 20, 2022, after IEBC’s Disputes Tribunal upheld a decision by Mombasa County Returning Officer who had rejected his bid for the polls slated for August 9.
The tribunal ruled that Sonko did not present a certified degree certificate on time and therefore fell short of the mandatory requirement.
“Any person seeking clearance must certify all the statutory requirements. The electoral process must be followed to the letter and non-compliance leads to disqualification,” the committee ruled.
But reacting to the ruling on Monday night, the Wiper party aspirant alleged that the Commission had been compromised to unfairly disqualify him from the contest.
“We know money must have changed hands. Our case was supposed to be ruled on Saturday, it was moved to Sunday and then to today,” Sonko said.
“(Tunajua hata wale proxies ambao wametumika na magunia ya pesa yale yamebebwa (We know even the proxies who have been used and the sacks of money they delivered).”
The flamboyant politician argued that he presented his papers to IEBC in good time and the only thing that was a setback was the argument that his appeal took time.
“So the argument in the Court of Appeal took time and we served the returning officer with the direction from the Supreme Court in the presence of the media,” he added while urging his supporters to remain calm.
Sonko’s legal team led by lawyer John Khaminwa said they will be heading to court today (Tuesday) in a bid to stay the ruling.
