Two dropped from Eala race for not resigning from their jobs
A nominee to Eala during verification of her papers by parliamentary clerks on November 30, 2017. Two nominees have been knocked out of the race for Eala because they had not resigned from their jobs. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Ms Julie Njeri Waweru (Jubilee) and Ms Winfred Mutua (National Super Alliance) were blocked by the joint committee.
The report noted that Ms Waweru is one of the directors of the Kenya Youth Enterprise Fund.
It also noted thate Ms Mutua is a sitting member of the Machakos County Assembly.
Two nominees have been knocked out of the race for the East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) because they had not resigned from their jobs in line with the Constitution and the Elections Act.
This comes as the Senate and the National Assembly adopted a report by a joint parliamentary committee co-chaired by MP Katoo ole Metito (Kajiado South) and his Senate counterpart Aaron Cheruiyot (Kericho) that scrutinised the names. The election is set for December 14.
The names were originally meant to be sent to Eala in Arusha, Tanzania, on December 13.
With the latest development, Kenya will be required to make another notification when the names will be submitted to the assembly.
Ms Julie Njeri Waweru (Jubilee) and Ms Winfred Mutua (National Super Alliance) were blocked by the joint committee that scrutinised the 27 names shortlisted by political parties.
“Our colleagues from other countries have been asking why we have held the entire regional bloc to ransom,” said Mr Cheruiyot.
REPORT
The report noted that Ms Waweru is one of the directors of the Kenya Youth Enterprise Fund while Ms Mutua is a sitting member of the Machakos County Assembly.
The Eala elections Act provides that an individual is disqualified from being elected a member if they are a public officer.
The clerk of the National Assembly, Mr Michael Sialai, and his Senate colleague Jeremiah Nyegenye, who acted as presiding officers in the nominees’ vetting, had accepted Ms Mutua’s nomination papers to enable the committee to decide on whether she qualifies for election to the regional assembly.
The committee also threw out names of Mr Cheruiyot Tamogei, Ms Hellen Makone, Mr Billy Baltazar and Mr Humphrey Njuguna, who submitted their applications as independent candidates, as they did not have the support of at least 1,000 signatures of registered voters as per the elections law.
Despite claiming to be independent, they were also found to be members of the Jubilee Party.
Kenya is the only state in the East African Community that is yet to submit the names of its representatives. The region has six countries, each with nine slots. Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda have had their representatives sworn in.
