Wiper officials in contempt case over Changamwe primaries
Changamwe MP aspirant Peterson Mittau (right) with his lawyer Charles Madowo outside the Milimani Law Courts yesterday after the court allowed Mr Mittau to contest the seat on a Wiper ticket. | PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU |
What you need to know:
- The High Court has ordered the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT) to hear an application to jail top officials of the Wiper Party for failing to issue a nomination certificate to a candidate who won the Changamwe parliamentary primaries.
- Mr Mittau had defeated Mr Daniel Mulinge in the Changamwe primaries yet the party fraudulently issued the certificate to the Mr. Mulinge.
- If the top officials fail to issue the nomination certificate to Mr Mittau they risk being convicted for contempt like Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat and the parties director of elections Mr Edward Kivuvani who were fined Sh200,000 or serve a three month jail term.
The High Court has ordered the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT) to hear an application to jail top officials of the Wiper Party for failing to issue a nomination certificate to a candidate who won the Changamwe parliamentary primaries.
If the top officials fail to issue the nomination certificate to Peterson Mittau they risk being convicted of contempt.
While directing the tribunal to determine Mr Mittau’s petition, Justice Lydia Achode said “court orders must always be obeyed and that defiance must be dealt with in the manner prescribed by the law.”
Mr Mittau argued that the court order issued to Wiper is being defied with “impunity" and then invited the court to "stamp its authority.” He went on to say, “Court orders are not issued to a vacuum.”
DIRECTIVE
Justice Achode directed Mr Mittau to ensure his application complied with the PPDT directive that was issued with the nomination certificate before chairman Kyalo Mbobu, James Atemi and Hassan Abdi.
Wiper, which has been named as the defendant, has since declined to issue him with the certificate to enable him to compete in the August 8, 2017 general elections.
Mr Mittau had defeated Daniel Mulinge in the primaries but the party fraudulently issued the certificate to Mr Mulinge.
Mr Mbobu on May 3 cancelled the certificate issued to Mr Mulinge and directed Wiper to give the nomination to Mr Mittau.
DISPUTES
The contempt case against Wiper's top officials will be heard on Wednesday.
The tribunal has been allowed three more days by the Chief Justice David Maraga to conclude over 200 disputes arising from the recently concluded primaries.
The seven-member PPDT appointed by the CJ aims to conclude all the disputes by May 13, 2017.
