Last week, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) cleared former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko to contest for the Mombasa governorship.
This was after the High Court in Mombasa ordered the Wafula Chebukati-led commission to clear Sonko on grounds that the controversial politician had not exhausted all the avenues for appeal following his impeachment as Nairobi governor.
This signaled that the flamboyant politician was on the verge of not only making a comeback but also writing history as the first Kenya politician to become a governor in two different counties.
But on Friday, July 15, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal and High Court decision affirming that former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko’s impeachment was legally done.
Following the judgment, the electoral agency on Monday, July 18, revoked Mike Sonko’s clearance to vie for Mombasa Governor in the August 9, General Election.
In a statement, Mombasa County Returning officer Swalhah Ibrahim Yusuf said the decision had been arrived at following the Apex court’s decision that he (Sonko) could not hold any public office due to his impeachment.
“In adherence to the Supreme Court judgment you are therefore disqualified from holding any public office and thus disqualified from contesting and being elected as the governor of Mombasa or any other county. Your candidature is invalidated and your certificate revoked,” read the letter in part.
On December 3, 2020, Sonko was impeached by 88 Nairobi Members of the County Assembly.
The embattled politician now says he will move to the East Africa Court of Justice to seek a review of the Supreme Court ruling that upheld his impeachment.
“We have filed for a review before the same Supreme Court and we have also filed before the East Africa Court of Justice,” Sonko said.
