THE IEBC has said Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuru should kick-start the process of removing Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula from the register of voters.
This means the Cord co-principal, who also faces the threat of prosecution, risks losing his seat after the Supreme Court found him guilty of voter bribery on March 17 this year. IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba told the Star in an interview that Ethuro should first publish the report received from the Supreme Court in the Kenya Gazette, before the commission can swing into action.
“Upon the publication, the commission is required to consider that report and establish whether or not the offender should be removed from the register of voters,” Chiloba said, citing Section 87(3) of the Elections Act. If struck off from the voters’ roll, the Cord Senate Minority leader and close confidant of Raila Odinga’s could be sent packing.
Section 24(1)(a) of the Elections Act states: “A person qualifies for nomination as a member of Parliament if the person is registered as a voter”. The provision is likely to be exploited by Wetang’ula’s opponents as the clock ticks towards the 2017 polls.
Jubilee’s Musikari Kombo has been Wetang’ula’s fiercest rival since 2013. A similar provision was used to dramatically lock out lawyer Kithi Kilonzo from contesting the Makueni gubernatorial seat in a protracted battle that ended up in court. Registrar of the Supreme Court Esther Nyaikai confirmed to the Star that she had formally notified Ethuro, Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko and IEBC chairman Issack Hassan of the court decision.
The Senator, who recaptured his seat in 2013 after losing an election petition arising from that year’s general election, was found guilty of committing the offence of bribery and of treating voters by the Bungoma court on September 30, 2013.
The verdict was later confirmed by the Court of Appeal sitting in Kisumu on March 14, 2014, after the Senator appealed the High Court decision. Wetang’ula moved to the Supreme Court to challenge the Appeal Court ruling, but, on March 17, 2015, the highest court in the land upheld the decision. Tobiko has vowed to charge Wetang’ula if there is evidence.
