- But Kilonzo who had filed the suit that occasioned the court order on Sunday stayed away terming the nominations a sham.
- Both Kilonzo and his lawyer Erick Mutua say the Sunday nominations did not follow the law.
Former Ambassador Kiema Kilonzo on Sunday boycotted the Wiper Party’s Kitui gubernatorial aspirant nominations ordered by the High Court.
Justice Christine Meoli on Friday ordered the party to conduct fresh nominations for its candidates for the Kitui gubernatorial seat within 72 hours.
But Kilonzo has dismissed the Sunday Wiper nominations as a sham.
The ongoing nominations were occasioned by a suit he had filed, challenging the direct nomination of former Kitui governor Julius Malombe as the party’s Kitui gubernatorial seat candidate.
Justice Meoli also overturned the rulings by the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal and Wiper's internal dispute resolution tribunal that had validated Malombe’s nomination.
As she gave her judgment, the judge ruled that the nomination certificate for Malombe was issued unlawfully.
But even after the party's National Election Board worked round the clock to meet the deadline provided by the court, Kilonzo opted to stay away, poking holes into the legality of the process.
According to a letter from the Wiper's National Election Board chairperson Agatha Solitei, each of the eight constituencies in Kitui county would only have a single polling centre.
Kilonzo said the polls were a smokescreen to once again endorse Malombe as the Wiper candidate, adding that it was the reason he will be heading back to court on Monday.
Interestingly, Monday is the same day that Malombe has a date with the Kitui county returning officer Macharia Gichichi to present his nomination papers and be registered as the Wiper candidate for the Kitui governor race.
(edited by Amol Awuor)