Mariga to know his fate in Kibra by-election on Monday – VIDEO
Kenyan football star McDonald Mariga will on Monday know his fate in his bid to score a political goal to become the next Member of Parliament for Kibra or if he will watch it from the touchline.
This is according to Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati, who chaired the commission’s Disputes Tribunal which is hearing the petition against invalidation of his candidature.
Beatrice Muli, the Kibra by-election Returning Officer who invalidated Mariga’s eligibility to vie for the seat on Tuesday, said she could not find the candidate’s name in the IEBC register and nomination check list.
Muli said Mariga and his Jubilee Party skipped a pre-nomination meeting where all nominated candidates present themselves at the constituency IEBC office for registration for the mini-poll.
“After a party nominates a candidate, the next step is for the candidate with a party official to present themselves to the electoral office for registration of the candidate. Neither the Jubilee Party nor its candidate were present for the exercise,” Muli told the tribunal.
“I even tried calling the party but my calls went answered. I am guided by the law and the constitution and that is what I followed when Mr Mariga presented himself on September 10, 2019.”
She further confirmed that the ICT voters’ registration list was up to date, but could not verify whether the hardcopy version was updated.
Ishmail Yasim, the Assistant Registration Officer for Starehe Constituency, the confirmed to have personally registered the footballer as a voter in Starehe on August 26, 2019 and issued him with an acknowledgement slip at 12:05pm.
This was more than a week after Speaker of the National Assembly, Justin Muturi, officially declared the Kibra constituency parliamentary seat vacant following the death of area MP Ken Okoth.
Mariga was present during the hearing accompanied by his lawyers and a number of Jubilee officials.