Supreme Court upholds Sonko impeachment
Supreme Court upholds Sonko impeachment just a day after he was cleared by IEBC for Mombasa gubernatorial seat.
On Friday, 15, July, the Supreme Court confirmed judgments made by the High Court and Court of Appeal, confirming the impeachment of former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko.
This is a major blow for the former Nairobi Governor, Mike Mbuvi Sonko in his quest to run for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat.
In its decision, the Supreme Court upheld the lower courts’ decisions upholding the Senate’s removal of him from office.
Sonko’s appeal was rejected by the seven-judge panel under the leadership of Chief Justice Martha Koome for lack of jurisdiction.
The court dismissed Sonko’s appeal on grounds that it lacked jurisdiction to determine the appeal.
The Supreme Court ruled that the impeachment proceedings before the County Assembly and the Senate were properly conducted in accordance with Article 181 of the Constitution, Section 33 of the County Governments Act and Standing Orders of the Assembly and the Senate.
“The Court lacked jurisdiction to determine the appeal. However, in view of the public interest nature of the dispute, the need for due guidance to the judicial process and to the courts below and for the sake of posterity and development of jurisprudence the Court (the majority) has decided to settle all the pertinent questions the appeal raises, instead of downing tools on account of want of jurisdiction,” the document read.
“There were four counts of impeachable charges against the appellant. The County Assembly, the Senate and the two superior courts below were convinced that the charges were proved to the standard required in such circumstances. No error for their analysis and conclusion has been presented.”
The ruling means Sonko can not be allowed to run after exhausting all legal means.
The supreme court decision comes just a day after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) cleared Sonko to run for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat.
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