Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

The United Democratic Alliance Party (UDA) suffered a major setback yesterday after the High Court in Eldoret upheld the ruling revoking its nomination of nine MCAs to Uasin Gishu County Assembly.

While delivering his ruling, Justice Reuben Nyakundi ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to de-gazette the names of the affected MCAs within 14 days and gazette the approved list within the same period.

The aggrieved list of MCAs who have lost their jobs include James Wachira, Belinda Chebichi, David Waiganjo, Rhodah Cheruiyot, Nancy Kiboi Hassan Chepkoech, Sarah Abdi, Magrine Chebet and Juliet Chelimo.

Those whose names the court has directed the polls agency to gazette under the gender top up list are Carolne Jeptanui, Cherono Caroline, Tirop Everline, Serem Naomi, Ng’etich Pamela, Sharon Jewel Kogo, Burgei Veronica, Mutai Celestine and Rebecca Jerop.

Others who are set to be gazette under the special category are Kiplagat Gerald, Wambui Tabitha, Kering Robert and Regina Chemba.

The court’s order means among the nominated MCAs who lost their jobs, six had been irregularly shortlisted in the gender top up list and three in special category.

Declare vacant

The court directed that upon gazettement of the given list of MCAs, the Uasin Gishu County Assembly to swear in the gazette names in its immediate sitting.

The court also advised that should the IEBC fail to gazette the names of the genuine list of nominated MCAs within the 14-day period, the speaker of the County Assembly should then declare the positions of the nominated MCAs as vacant.

“Upon declaring the positions vacant in terms of order in relation to the above, the speaker of the County Assembly of Uasin Gishu shall in the immediate next sitting after the lapse of 14 days proceed to swear in the applicants into office as duly nominated members of the County Assembly of Uasin Gishu,” ruled Justice Nyakundi.

The court further directed that the persons whose names have been revoked will no longer be accorded the status, rights, privileges and any other entitlement as members of the County Assembly of Uasin Gishu.

The aggrieved MCAs were made with a similar verdict at the court of appeal where they had moved to rescind the decision of the High Court revoking their nomination.
Justice Stephen Riech who presided over the case dismissed the appeal filed by the nominated MCAs at the Eldoret High Court.

The MCAs had filed the appeal against a judgement issued by the Eldoret Chief Magistrate on March 15, 2023 nullifying their nomination to the County Assembly.

According to the court the polls agency illegally gazetted the MCAs yet the list had been rejected by the Political Parties Tribunal.

While delivering the judgement, Justice Riech agreed with Chief Magistrate Dennis Mikoyan’s decision, stating that UDA, as well as the IEBC, while nominating the MCAs, relied on a list that had been declared null and void by the Political Parties Tribunal.

Chief magistrate

“The only genuine list of the nominated MCAs was the one dated July 27, 2022, and not the one filed by UDA on August 24, 2022,” the court stated last week.

Justice Riech said that he did not find any error in the ruling made by the chief magistrate.
The judge stated that the UDA did not have any powers to revise, amend or review the party list once it was closed on July 27 last year.

The court had also ordered the de-gazettement of the party list, which was gazetted on September 9, 2022.

Mikoyan had noted that a valid party list had been submitted and published on the IEBC website and in a local daily on July 27, last year, days before elections.

However, weeks later, on August 24, a revised list was published, omitting the names of most of the nominees, who had been listed in the prior list.