Speaker Justin Muturi was not validly elected: petitioner

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi during a cocktail in his honour at the Hotel InterContinental in Nairobi on April 12, 2013. A petitioner has challenged his re-election as speaker. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Petitioner says Speaker Justin Muturi was not duly cleared by the IEBC to contest.
  • He also says there was no quorum to duly elect the speaker.

The validity of the speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi has been challenged by one his competitors who claimed he was not validly elected on August 31.

Dr Noah Migudo Winja has petitioned Parliament, claiming that the speaker failed to meet nomination requirements and that the House was not properly constituted during the election.

RESIGN

Dr Winja has written to the Clerk of the National Assembly Mr Michael Sialai seeking Mr Muturi’s immediate resignation, claiming he was wrongly cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

The letter, dated October 16, has also been copied to chairman of the IEBC Wafula Chebukati, leader of majority in the National Assembly Aden Duale, ODM chairman John Mbadi and Mr Muturi.

“Documents I have with me indicate that Justin Muturi submitted his Curriculum Vitae to your office on August 30, 2017 and was not duly cleared by IEBC before 9am on August 29, 2017. This being the case, Hon Muturi was not qualified for nomination for election for the Speaker of National Assembly on August 31,” reads the letter seen by the Nation.

Dr Winja said that the advertisement for the position required interested Kenyans to submit a clearance certificate from the IEBC, confirming that the candidate is also qualified for nomination to contest in the 2017 General Election as an MP, and a CV.

DEADLINE

But he alleged that Mr Muturi’s CV was stamped as received on August 30 and thus was submitted after the deadline had elapsed.

“Even though he was cleared by IEBC for nomination for the position of Speaker in 2013 and despite attaining the said position, he was required by law to obtain clearance again in 2017 to contest for the said position in the 12th Parliament,” Dr Winja said.

He also claimed that the election of the Speaker was done in contravention of the number of MPs needed to be present to meet the quorum requirement, saying that only 221 legislators were present against the quorum of 233 members required for the election of a Speaker to take place.

“That, on August 31, there was no quorum present, a requirement for election of a Speaker of the National Assembly, if there is more than one candidate…only 221 Members of Parliament were present,” reads the petition.

BARRED

Dr Winja also wants the Clerk to call for a repeat election within seven days and Mr Muturi be barred from taking part in the repeat exercise as he was not properly nominated.

“Kindly confirm, within seven days of the date of this letter, that MPs have been informed that there will be a repeat election for the Speaker of National Assembly on or before November 7, 2017…,” further reads the letter.

Mr Muturi, with the backing of majority Jubilee MPs, was elected in the second round of the vote after failing to meet the two-thirds-majority-vote threshold in round one.

In the first round, he managed 217 votes against the two-thirds-majority target of 233 out of 348 votes.

His only competitor, Dr Winja, managed four votes out of the 221 cast in the first round.

In the second round, Mr Muturi, who required a simple majority to clinch the seat, got 220 votes.