For a second time, an elections court has ruled that the nomination of 11 individuals to the Uasin Gishu County Assembly by the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) was illegal.
The court sitting at the Eldoret High Court on Friday, September 1, 2023, upheld a ruling that a Magistrate Court issued in March.
It insisted that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) used the wrong list when gazetting nominated MCAs for the Uasin Gishu County Assembly.
According to the court, IEBC relied on a contested list when it gazetted the 11 MCAs despite being advised not to do so by the Political Parties Tribunal.
In an earlier ruling by Eldoret Chief Magistrate Denis Mikoyan, it was noted that the valid list that IEBC was to rely on should have been the one dated July 27, 2023.
The court was however told that the electoral agency relied on another list dated August 24, 2023. On this basis, it ruled the nomination of the 11 MCAs unconstitutional – a decision that the Eldoret High Court has upheld.
With the latest ruling, the IEBC will now be required to gazette a new list of nominated MCAs. However, the affected MCAs can still appeal the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
UDA was allocated 13 out of the 14 nomination slots at the Uasin Gishu County Assembly after it won 28 of the 30 wards in the 2022 general election.
But one slot went to the Jubilee party which has two elected MCAs.
List of 11 Uasin Gishu nominated MCAs whose nomination has been nullified
- Wachira James Maina
- Tirop Belinda Chebichii
- Waiganjo David Waweru
- Tirop Evarlyne Chepkoech
- Serem Naomi Chepkemboi
- Kemboi Roda Jelagat
- Rebecca Jerop
- Kiboi Chemtai Nancy
- Hassan Saida Chepkoech
- Kebenei Magrinah Chebet
- Chelimo Juliet
Meanwhile, immediately after the High Court ruling, a section of persons living with disabilities broke into dance and celebrations.
They had also contested the list which had no single individual representing them.
Addressing the press outside the Eldoret High Court buildings, Regina Chumba, one of the persons with disabilities who were on the initial list of those to be nominated said justice had finally been served.
“For the first time, we have justice as persons with disabilities. We now urge relevant authorities to ensure we are sworn in so that we start working. We’re already late by a year,” Chumba who is also an activist.
[…] The High Court in September 2023 upheld a lower court decision that had ruled that nomination of 11 MCAs by UDA was null and void. […]