Court declares Gatundu North Parliamentary seat vacant

Gatundu North parliamentary seat has been declared vacant by the High Court.

In the ruling on Wednesday October 7, High Court Judge Weldon Korir stated that the election of MP Wanjiku Kibe was in contravention of the law as she was still an MCA at the time of her election in 2017.

Korir has since directed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission IEBC) to conduct fresh elections for the position within 90 days.

“I declare that the seat of the MP Hon Anne Wanjiku has become vacant,” Korir ruled.

Additionally, the court directed the Deputy Registrar to forward the ruling to the Speaker of the National Assembly for appropriate action.

Former MP Clement Waibara had filed a constitutional petition claiming that the right to vie for election as a Member of Parliament is subject to qualification criteria set out in article 99 of the Constitution.

Waibara had expressed that Wanjiku did not qualify to vie for the parliamentary seat since she had not resigned as a nominated MCA in the Kiambu County Assembly on the date of her election in the 2017 General Election.

In June 2020, the Court of Appeal ordered a fresh petition that challenged the MP’s qualifications that saw her contest for the seat.

This, after the appellate court, faulted the High Court ruling for not conclusively determining the constitutional question raised by the petitioner.