The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is set to clear former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko for Mombasa gubernatorial seat despite being impeached for corruption.
Sonko was impeached by 88 members of the county assembly on December 3, 2020, when they voted to support the impeachment motion, a decision that was later upheld by the Senate, paving way for his exit from City Hall.
In an interview on Citizen TV on Monday, May 9, IEBC Commissioner Abdi Guliye stated that all is not lost for the controversial politician who still has the Supreme Court as an existing appeal avenue.
“If you have been found culpable by a competent court of law to have been impeached sufficiently for certain irregularities in the performance of your duty then if there are existing appeal mechanisms you are eligible to vie,
“But if all those appeal avenues have been exhausted and the final verdict is uncontested then you shouldn’t run,” Guliye said.
However, former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi insisted that Sonko is not eligible to vie for other elective posts.
“The line on integrity I draw in ink for clarity. If impeachment, you stand disqualified from running for public office. If convicted or facing trial, you are not disqualified unless the appeal process is exhausted,” Nelson Havi.
Last month, the flamboyant city politician announced the decision to contest for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat on a Wiper Party ticket.
Sonko said that he was interested in running for the Nairobi Governorship but his sponsoring party wanted him to run in Mombasa.
“I am really interested in going for Nairobi Governor a second time but some agents of the party are pushing otherwise,” Sonko said.
He is expected to battle it out with former Mombasa senator Omar Hassan of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
