Makadara Vacant

The Makadara parliamentary seat is officially vacant.

National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende declared the seat vacant a month after the High Court nullified the election of Dick Wathika in the last election.

This gives the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) powers to plan a by-election in a constituency with more than 70,000 registered voters.

However, Marende’s decision contained in a gazette notice is dated April 29, 2020 instead of 2010.

Efforts to get a comment from him over the dates were futile.

The Speaker’s move comes as Mr Wathika prepares to fight for retention of the seat in the Court of Appeal by first filing an application seeking interim orders. It is in this application that he would have sought orders stopping Marende from declaring the seat vacant, pending hearing and determination of the appeal.

So far, no MP in the 2007 parliamentary elections has obtained interim orders barring the Speaker from declaring a seat vacant or IIEC from conducting a by-election.

When former South Mugirango MP Omingo Magara lost his seat, the Court of Appeal declined to grant him the order and opted to hear and determine his appeal with speed.

This was the case with former Bomachoge MP Joel Onyancha and former Transport Minister Chirau Mwakwere, who is expecting a Court of Appeal ruling on whether his appeal will be struck out on June 4.

Lady Justice Kalpana Rawal nullified Wathika’s election in April on grounds that the electoral process was marred by irregularities.

She said the election was not free and fair and that the Returning Officer abdicated her responsibility.

Former MP Reuben Ndolo, who cited numerous irregularities in the 2007 elections, filed the petition that nullified Wathika’s election.

Through his lawyer Otiende Amolo, the petitioner had asked the judge to nullify the election alleging officials of the now defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya colluded to rig the polls by orchestrating his arrest on December 28, 2007.