A case filed by two Mombasa residents challenging former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko's bid to vie in Mombasa will be heard on Wednesday.
Ndoro Kayuga and George Odhiambo, through their lawyer Willis Oluga, filed the case at the High Court in Mombasa on Monday under a certificate of urgency.
The two want the court to issue conservatory orders barring Sonko from vying for Mombasa governor on August 9.
On Monday, Justice John Mativo directed the matter be heard on Wednesday at 8am. The case will be heard virtually.
In the case, Kayuga and Odhiambo have named Sonko as the first respondent, Wiper Democratic Movement as the second, and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission as the third respondent.
The petitioners, in court documents, have listed several reasons why the former governor should be barred from vying.
They argue that Sonko was removed from office for persistently intimidating, harassing and molesting officers of the county executive, including blackmailing his county executive committee members and chief officers.
Further, they said Sonko illegally used public funds to pay for his daughter's travel to the US.
The former governor is also accused of drawing a salary and hefty allowances and being perennially absent even before the courts formally restrained him from accessing his office.
"Having been removed from the office of the governor of Nairobi City County for contravention of inter alia, Article 75 of the Constitution and for behaving in a manner that demeaned the office of a county governor, the first respondent is disqualified from holding any other state office," court documents say.
Sonko was impeached on December 17, 2020, for gross violation of the Constitution.
He contested the impeachment at the High Court and Court of Appeal, but the courts upheld the impeachment.
Last week on Thursday, Sonko was given a direct ticket by Wiper party to contest for Mombasa governor.
Kisauni MP Ali Mbogo was named as his running mate.
Other candidates in the race are former Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar (UDA) and Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir (ODM).
Edited by A.N
