The Disgraced Umoja 2 MCA Joseph Ndonji's plan of making sure that the ODM party does not have a candidate in the August polls seems to be going according to plan after he successfully petitioned the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee to revoke Shadrack Machanje's nomination.
In a ridiculous ruling issued by Wambua Kilonzo, the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee nullified the nomination of Machanje and directed ODM to nominate an alternative candidate other than Machanje, a former tout and Ndonji for the Umoja 2 MCA aspirant.
After the ruling, a jubilant Ndonji was seen smiling ear to ear at the apparent loss. He had vowed that if he doesn't get the nomination, Machanje will not get either. "Hii kitu Ndonji aisipopata pia Shadrack hatapata", he bragged.
UDA adherents broke into song and dance after the ruling by the IEBC. Embakasi West George Theuri, Ndonji and Felician Obilo have been working in cahoots after realizing that Machanje was their only threat.
Residents of Umoja 2 are infuriated by the latest ruling and have accused the judiciary of having a vendetta against Machanje who is seen as the "underdog".
"How can the IEBC Committee direct the Party on who their candidate will be. The only reason they are fighting Shady tooth and nail is that he is the most popular candidate they posed.
The Umoja 2 Wars nomination saga has captured the attention of the entire country as it has been pending in Court for months.
Ndonji is said to be holding on to the seat because of the lucrative tenders he had access to as the Chairman of the Environment and Land Committee.
The seat is important because Umoja 2 Ward has been an ODM stronghold for ages and Theuri in cahoots with Ndonji are salivating for the seat.
Ndonji even went to the extent of seeking the imprisonment of ODM's National Elections Board Chairperson Catherine Mumma.
Were it not for the swift action of Professor Tom Ojienda who overturned a ruling by the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal that found her to be in contempt of Court Mumma would be cooling her heels at the Langata Women's prison thanks to Ndonji's shenanigans in court.
Justice Joseph Sergon last Thursday stopped the contempt of court proceedings against Mumma for disobeying the orders issued by the PPDT on May 14 to recognise Umoja II MCA Joseph Ndonji as the ODM nominee.
Justice Joseph Sergon issued the orders after Mumma moved to court to appeal the decision by the Tribunal on June 14.
"That there be a temporary order for stay of execution of the ruling of the Tribunal delivered on June 14 to last until June 30", the judge ordered.
Justice Sergin also ordered that there be a stay of the proceedings scheduled for Thursday evening to last until June 30.
The application was fixed for a hearing on June 30.
In a ruling delivered on June 14, the Tribunal found Mumma in contempt of the orders issued on May 31 which directed the party to issue a nomination certificate of Umoja II ward MCA to incumbent Ndonji.
The Tribunal had also nullified the certificate issued to former Umoinner tout Shadrack Machanje which the party had issued to him.
Mumma was expected to appear before the Tribunal on Thursday to show cause why she should not be jailed for six years.
Mumma through lawyer Prof. Tom Ojienda appealed the PPDT ruling stating that it erred by failing to appreciate that it was only the IEBC which had jurisdiction to entertain the complaint regarding the fresh nomination exercise that took place in May 31.
Ojienda argues that the Tribunal erred by assuming jurisdiction to hear and determine the Application dated 6th June 2022 and failed to appreciate that it was a fresh nomination dispute that ought to have been subjected to the ODM’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms in the first instance in violation of Section 40(2) of the Political Parties Act;
"The Tribunal erred by assuming jurisdiction to hear and determine the Application when ODM Party had already forwarded the name of Machanje to the Independent, Electoral and Boundaries Commission, and as such, any dispute revolving around the said nomination was a preserve of the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee as per Article 88 (4)(e) of the Constitution and Section 74(1) of the Elections Act", he states.
He faulted the Tribunal for purporting to determine that it had concurrent jurisdiction with the IEBC and in so doing usurped the exclusive jurisdiction conferred upon the Commission to determine nomination disputes after names are submitted to it in violation of Article 88 (4)(e) of the Constitution and Section 74(1) of the Elections Act.
The Tribunal erred by purporting to cite Mumma for contempt of the Court Orders dated 14th May 2022, when the Orders had been issued against John Mbadi and not her.
By purporting to cite Mumma for contempt of the Court Orders, Ojienda said the alleged contempt had already been purged through the meeting that was convened on 31st May 2022 and as such there was no contempt.
ODM accused the Tribunal of showing partisanship and purporting to single out Ndonji for the punishment of the alleged contempt when the impugned decision was a decision of the ODM Central Committee and not of Ndonji as an individual in violation of Article 27 of the Constitution.