Raila lobby forces registrar to name party hoppers

By JUDY OGUTU                  

Registrar of Political Parties Lucy Ndung’u has been ordered to file before court a detailed affidavit showing whether there are MPs who have defected to other parties.

High Court Judge Justice Mohamed Warsame gave the directive on Monday when a case filed by a political lobby group, Friends of Raila (Fora) came up before him.

The affidavit will show whether any MP “has committed acts of omission within the purview of Section 14 (5) of the Political Parties Act.”

Ms Ndung’u will also be required to state why she has acted or not acted on the particular MPs.

The judge also ordered Fora to file and serve all affected MPs with an affidavit detailing “all transgressing acts or omissions or conducts committed by an individual MP, the date the member may have left the sponsoring party and joined another party.”

The order came after Fora argued that the Registrar needed to supply them with more detailed information on the various politicians and the parties they have moved to.

The group’s advocate, Mr Anthony Oluoch, claimed the information was in the media.

On her part, the registrar, through lawyer George Imende told the court that the information being sought was not in her possession.

TV footage

The judge directed Fora to serve all affected MPs with the documents “including media/television footages indicating or manifesting the MPs committed the acts or omissions amounting to a defection, deception or forming another political party other than that which sponsored them to Parliament through election or nomination.”

Last May, Justice Warsame ordered Ndung’u to furnish the lobby group with information regarding all political parties that have complied with the Political Parties Act, 2011.

Fora had sought orders directing the Registrar to publish in any three dailies information regarding all political parties that have complied with the Act as at April 30, 2012.

The group’s officials Mr Micah Kigen (chairman), Hassan Omar (Deputy Chairman), Mr Eliud Owalo (Secretary) and Mr Charles Omanga have sued the Registrar of Political Parties.

The information it had sought in particular was on members of political parties who have, while being sitting MPs and members of a political party formed another party.