A lawyer has lodged a fresh suit before the High court seeking orders compelling the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to bar any politician who has been impeached or charged in court to vie in the forthcoming general elections.

In documents filed in court, Edward Asitiba seeks the court’s intervention on grounds that the IEBC has failed and refused to stop individuals with questionable integrity from running for public office unless there is an order from the court.

The lawyer argues that if IEBC clears such politicians with questionable integrity to vie for public offices, the same will erode public trust in the country’s constitution, institutions and the entire electoral process which he says is a sure recipe for anarchy.

“A declaration be issued that allowing public officials, who have been removed from office through impeachment, to contest for any state office offends the letter and the spirit of the constitution, and in particular chapter six of the constitution,” Lawyer Asitiba states.

The lawyer claims that a number of candidates who have previously been removed from office through impeachment with questionable integrity and some with pending or active cases in court for economic crimes and other heinous crimes including capital offences have been cleared by IEBC to contest for public office in the August 9 polls.

“That without having been of these allegations, the prospective aspirants and candidates with active court cases should not be permitted to contest for public office as this is not only a total assault on chapter six of the constitution, but also a clear mockery of our supreme law,” reads the court documents.

Asitiba now wants persons with questionable integrity and those with pending and ongoing court cases for corruption, economic crimes and other heinous crimes including capital offences be barred from running for office pending the hearing and determination of his case.

“Without having been cleared of these allegations, the prospective aspirants with active court cases should not be permitted to contest for public office as this is not only a total assault on chapter six of the constitution but also a clear mockery of our supreme law,” he says.

He wants that “A declaration be issued that candidates with unresolved or active and ongoing court cases -alleging corruption, abuse of office and other heinous crimes-must not contest for elective post until they have been cleared on such charges and proved their innocence or otherwise.”

The lawyer further says EACC and CAJ have a duty to the public to vet and bar individuals implicated in corruption and other heinous crimes from running for public office.

“The blatant disregard of the provisions on leadership and integrity as espoused under chapter six leads to poor governance and encourages abuse and misuse of state office by state officials to enrich themselves and further their persona interests to the detriment of Kenyans,” Asitiba states.

According to the court documents, the presumption of innocence notwithstanding, allowing such aspirants to run for office is to risk having corrupt officials with tainted records to hold office.

“The inevitable consequences are increased looting and a by-election at the expense of taxpayers which can be avoided by requiring aspirants to be cleared of any charges before running for office,” he said.

The lawyer further argues that the blatant disregard of the provision on leadership and integrity leads to poor governance and encourages abuse and misuse of state or public office by state officials to enrich themselves and further their personal interests to the detriment of the common Mwananchi.

“As things stand, leadership is not about service delivery, it is a matter of the so-called leaders placing themselves in vantage positions to loot resources and using their political positions to protect their ill acquired wealth,” Asitiba states in his court papers.

The lawyer however adds that allowing such persons to hold offices with the probability that they may be found guilty of abuse of office and or misuse of office is tantamount to denying Kenyans the opportunity to get justice and restitution for all the economic crimes committed against them by selfish individuals who have been entrusted to protect and further the interest of Kenyans.