This archive report was first published on 18 September 2019.
On September 18, 2019, the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal dismissed a petition challenging McDonald Mariga's candidature in the Kibra by-election.
Deputy President William Ruto's candidate of choice for the Kibra by-election, Mariga, was facing trouble after a voter, Morris Peter Kinyanjui, went to court with allegations that pressure from the DP and top IEBC officials led to Mariga's clearance to vie for the Kibra parliamentary seat.
Mariga registered in Starehe 12 days after the Kibra seat was declared vacant, a factor Kinyanjui cited as another ground for barring him from contesting.
However, Mariga's legal team argued that the definition of a register under the Election Act is not limited to Kiems, and that the decision by the Kibra returning officer to disqualify Mariga was ill-conceived, grossly illegal, and tantamount to taking away his constitutional right.
The tribunal, chaired by Kyalo Mbobu, ruled that the avenue in which Kinyanjui filed his petition was wrong and that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.
The IEBC had already accepted Mariga's nomination certificate, which sealed his fate in the Kibra by-election.
