The High Court in Nairobi has ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to accept the nomination papers of gospel artiste Reuben Kigame ahead of the August 9 polls.
In a ruling made on Monday, July 18, Justice Antony Mrima said that the electoral body had violated Kigame’s rights by locking him out of the contest.
However, Justice Mrima declined to order IEBC to include the veteran gospel singer’s name on the ballot saying the court would be overstepping its mandate since that was the role of IEBC.
IEBC lawyer Moses Kipkogey told the court that it is impossible to comply with the order because IEBC has already printed ballot papers for presidential candidates.
Welcoming news of the ruling, Kigame expressed optimism that his name will be on the ballot.
He said justice had been delivered after IEBC declined his nomination.
“It has been a very long wait and quite dark for the last seven weeks. But I say Lipo tumaini,” he said
He described the decision by the high court to reinstate him as not just a victory for him and his team, but also “for those who want a new Kenya led by Utu and Maadili.”
“How can I thank God enough for the ruling on my case of exclusion from the ballot by IEBC and Chebukati?” he posed
In May, IEBC locked Kigame out of the August 9 polls stating that he failed to meet key requirements.
Kigame revealed the electoral body’s decision was conveyed to him by the Commission’s chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, who told him that there were anomalies with the signatures collected to support his candidature.
He stated that the electoral body had demonstrated favouritism towards some candidates stating that he was ready to resubmit his documents that had anomalies.
“Here is evidence of signatures and ID copies that IEBC refused to take and then charged me with non-compliance. They will not even look at my degrees and other qualifications. Let justice roll down like water and the cry of freedom from discrimination fill the air,” Kigame said.
However, Chebukati denied claims that IEBC was being influenced to bar some of the aspirants stating that those affected did not meet some of the requirements set by IEBC.
“From our records, governor Iria presented 24 bundles but in that, there were only signatures from 22 counties. Upon further verification, only documents for five counties passed the test,” Chebukati said.
