Kabete voters want Waititu barred from poll over integrity
Former Embakasi MP Ferdinand Waititu addresses his supporters after he was declared the winner for the Jubilee Alliance Party nominations in the forthcoming Kabate by-election. Two voters from the constituency have moved to the IEBC dispute resolution committee seeking to have Waititu barred from vying on grounds that he lacks moral authority to hold public office. PHOTO | ERIC WAINAINA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- They have requested the election dispute resolution committee of the IEBC to reject Mr Waititu’s candidature on grounds that he lacks moral authority to hold public office.
- The two claimed that the nomination of Mr Waititu by the Jubilee Alliance was improper for the reason that he is notoriously known in the country as a habitual law breaker.
- They said Mr Waititu has acted with impunity, contrary to the expectations of the Constitution and the Public Officer Ethics Act, The Political Parties Act, the Elections Act and the Penal Code.
- Through lawyer Haron Ndubi, the two claimed Waititu violates the provisions of Chapter Six of the Constitution, which advocates for integrity among public office holders.
Two Kabete constituents want former Embakasi MP Ferdinand Waititu’s candidature for the Kabete by-election blocked.
Stephen Charles Maina and Naomi Wambui Kamau have requested the election dispute resolution committee of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to reject Mr Waititu’s candidature on grounds that he lacks moral authority to hold public office.
Through lawyer Haron Ndubi, the two claimed that the nomination of Mr Waititu by the Jubilee Alliance was improper for the reason that he is notoriously known in the country as a habitual law breaker who violates the provisions of Chapter Six of the Constitution, which advocates for integrity among public office holders.
“Mr Waititu is known to have publicly incited a section of the public against members of the Maasai community residing in Kayole, Nairobi.
“The incitement happened when he was the serving Embakasi MP within whose jurisdiction Kayole fell,” explained Mr Ndubi.
HURLING STONES
He added that Mr Waititu is known to have publicly assaulted members of the public by hurling stones and other crude weapons against them, with a view to injuring them.
Mr Maina and Ms Wambui said through their lawyer that Mr Waititu has too many unresolved issues concerning his integrity and conduct, hence would not qualify for appointment, nomination or election to public office upon due diligence examination by a public entity including the Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP).
They said Mr Waititu has acted with impunity, contrary to the expectations of the Constitution and the Public Officer Ethics Act, The Political Parties Act, the Elections Act and the Penal Code.
The two have initiated the complaint before the IEBC election dispute resolution committee after the High Court declined to interfere with Mr Waititu’s candidature in the forthcoming Kabete parliamentary by-election.
The Judge had during a ruling delivered on March 18, 2015 stated that the court had no jurisdiction to make a finding on a nominee’s eligibility.
Mr Waititu’s lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui had told the court that the electoral commission should handle the dispute.
