• The Incumbent MCA Joseph Ndonji despite emerging 6th in the ODM nominations and losing out in subsequent appeals to Machanje continues to fight.
• In the application filed under urgency, Ndonji wants the Tribunal to issue an order directing IEBC to revoke Machanje’s name.
Image: Carolyne Kubwa
Just days after the ODM Party handed the nomination to a former matatu tout, the incumbent Umoja II MCA Joseph Ndonji has gone to Court for the 5th time to challenge the move.
Ndonji wants the party to hand him the nomination ticket on account that he is the area Chairman.
Ndonji who emerged 6th in the nominations has moved to the political Parties and Disputes Tribunal seeking to remove the name of Shadrack Machanje as the ODM party candidate nominee from IEBC.
Ndonji shot into the limelight last year after he was arraigned in Court for an assault case.
The Incumbent MCA Joseph Ndonji despite emerging 6th in the ODM nominations and losing out in subsequent appeals to Machanje continues to fight.
In the application filed under urgency, Ndonji wants the Tribunal to issue an order directing IEBC to revoke Machanje’s name.
He also wants the Tribunal to cite ODM ’s Chairman John Mbadi, the Chairperson of its National Elections Board Catherine Mumma and Machanje for contempt of court orders and they be committed to civil jail for a period of 6 months and/or be fined appropriately.
"The Tribunal to issue an order directing IEBC to revoke, cancel and nullify the nomination, clearance and/or gazettement of Machanje as the duly elected or nominated member of the ODM party for MCA seat for the Umoja 2 Ward", he argues.
He also wants IEBC to be directed to allow and accept him as the duly nominated ODM candidate for Umoja II ward.
However in a replying affidavit, Mumma accused Ndonji of using the tribunal to be nominated as the party's candidate for MCA Umoja 2 Ward, a move which she says amounts to the PPDT upsurping the party's autonomy.
"The application before this Court is not merited and is only meant to compel the tribunal to nominate the applicant as the 2nd respondent's candidate. The Court should not accept such a invitation that will result in usurpation of the Party's autonomy," she stated.
In Ndonji's application before the Tribunal, Ndonji argues that in a judgement delivered on May 14 and subsequent decree barred the ODM party from forwarding the name of Machanje as its nominee for the seat of MCA to IEBC in respect of the coming general elections in August, 2022.
He states that the judgement and decree was thereafter duly served upon the party who acknowledged service.
"The gist of the said Judgement was to refer the dispute in question back to ODM, restraining the latter not to nominate and/or forward Machanje’s name to IEBC for gazettement and further directed the ODM National Chairman to oversee the process concerning resolution of the subject dispute," Ndonji says.
Further, Ndonji says Machanje was on June 5 cleared by the IEBC to vie as the ODM party candidate for Umoja II ward despite the illegalities orchestrated by the party's agents who had due knowledge of the judgement and decree.
Ndonji alleges that the ODM party despite being aware of the decree presented himself before the IEBC in contempt of the court orders and fraudulently and/or illegally got cleared to vie.
The matter will be heard on Wednesday.