Court suspends PNU nominations

The Party of National Unity (PNU) primaries scheduled for Saturday and Monday have been temporarily suspended.

High Court Judge Roselyne Aburili granted the orders suspending the exercise in an urgent application filed by Mwajuma Rajab Abdallah, and Irene Muronji Kopi, who have claimed that the PNU primaries have been planned by persons who are not the genuine party officials.

Through lawyer Jackson Onyango Awele, the petitioners told the court that the party had in October last year purported to hold elections of officials in a manner which was against its constitution and the Political Parties Act.

The current officials of the party, who were not consulted when the elections were held, challenged the election of the new officials before the political Parties Tribunal.

However, the new officials proceed to the high court and obtained orders stopping their removal from office pending the outcome of an application they had filed to compel the register of political parties to gazette them as the new officials of PNU.

According to lawyer Onyango, the orders stopping the party primaries were necessary, to enable the court determine with finality, who are the genuine party officials.

“The officials elected last year, and who are holding office on the basis of a temporary order they had obtained, would have presided over the nomination process of the party which process will eventually be nullified after full hearing of the matter and therefore put the party in a very absurd situation,” lawyer Onyango.

The matter has been certified urgent and all the parties will be heard on Monday.