Ferdinand Waititu’s candidature for the Kabete by-election hangs in the balance after two voters from the constituency challenged his integrity on Tuesday.
Mr Godfrey Kimathi and Mr Joseph Njuguna want an order compelling the Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) to nullify the nomination certificate it issued to Mr Waititu.
They also want the court to order the electoral commission not to issue a clearance certificate to the former Embakasi MP to vie for the seat.
Through lawyer Philip Henry, the two voters argued that Mr Waititu lacks the integrity to contest and hold public office as a result of a High Court finding that declared him unfit to hold public office.
“Mr Waititu has some (character issues), which make him lack the integrity to contest the Kabete parliamentary seat. The people of Kabete stand to have poor representation in the National Assembly unless his nomination is revoked,” said Mr Henry.
IMAGE TAINTED
According to the lawyer, Mr Waititu is known for violence and his image was tainted when he was caught on camera throwing stones, leading unlawful demonstrations, inciting people to violence and destroying property.
Mr Kimathi and Mr Njuguna based their arguments on a judgment by Justice Mumbi Ngugi in February 2014 in which she declared Mr Waititu unfit to hold public office and nullified his appointment as chairman of the Athi Water Services Board.
The ruling followed an application by businessman Benson Riitho, who claimed that Mr Waititu lacked personal integrity, competence and was not suitable to hold any public office due to his character.
“Being a representative of the people, a member of the National Assembly is required to satisfy requirements of Chapter Six of the Constitution and his nomination if approved with be a violation of the law,” said Mr Henry.
He argued that Mr Waititu has never appealed against the High Court judgment, adding that the decision not to appeal showed he was satisfied with the pronouncement that he is unfit to hold any public office.
'INSTANT JUSTICE' MAN
The voters, he said, are apprehensive that Mr Waititu might vie for the Kaimbu governor’s seat in 2017 if he is cleared to contest in the Kabete by-election.
“The petitioners are also apprehensive of how he will relate with other members of the Kabete constituency from different communities, especially after he was charged with inciting people against the Maasai community in Kayole,” said the lawyer.
The two voters claimed Mr Waititu is facing other legal suits that might see him handed a custodial sentence of more than six months, and which will make the people of Kabete hold another by-election.
They want a declaration that Mr Waititu’s philosophy of “instant justice” is a violation of the rules of natural justice, and that his candidature is unlawful, null and void.
The application is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday.
Mr Waititu won the JAP ticket in the primaries conducted last Saturday, garnering 14,696 votes to beat a crowded field of 12 candidates.
From Nation news