Maina Njenga sues Uhuru's Jubilee Party for "unfair treatment"
Friday last week, Njenga's nomination papers were rejected by the officers at Pangani based Jubilee headquarters citing integrity issues.
Recommended articles
Njenga has sued Jubilee and the polls team Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for refusing to accept his nomination papers, in preparation for the race to clinch the war-torn Laikipia County as the senator.
Through his lawsuit classified as urgent and by lawyer Evans Ondieki, Njenga now claims that his papers were rejected following instructions by President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto.
Earlier, President Uhuru Kenyatta plunged aspirants through the Jubilee Party in a panic following his stringent move to have them cleared by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), as failure automatically locks them out of the party primaries slated for May.
Njenga is now accusing the party and President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto for what he terms as “dictatorial and unjustified treatment as Kenya is an open democratic society”.
He has said the lawsuit respondents acted illegally and that the move infringed on his political rights.
He added that the decision by the party should be declared null and void to give him room to oust Senator G.G Kariuki in the August polls.
Promote democracy
The former Mungiki leader now wants the Political Parties Tribunal to order Jubilee Party and the electoral body, IEBC, to promote and observe the values and principles of democracy and justice in the execution of their mandates.
In his submissions, he has said that the move to bar him from submitting his papers would dent his pocket over Sh100 million as he has already used up the money campaigning for Jubilee Party.
Earlier, Maina Njenga denied having any links with the group, which was widely been accused of maiming and hacking people to death during the 2007/2008 post-election violence, saying that he, in fact changed, and had started preaching in his Kitengela based Hope International Ministries Church in 2014.
He swore an affidavit over the same, indicating that he no longer associated with the sect and was a God-fearing person.
"I have never been a member of a proscribed organisation and those claiming so should provide evidence," he said through lawyer Ondieki.
Njenga also said he was duly registered as a Jubilee member and had paid the requisite Sh250 000 fee for registration and nomination.
"Having paid the amount it is unfair for the respondents to reject my nomination papers without giving reasons," he said.
The lawsuit filed by Njenga opens the first legal battle to Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party and the IEBC, which is likely to
In 2014, Njenga was close to the Opposition figurehead Raila Odinga and in June 2014, hosted the ODM leader at his Karen home after narrowly escaping death in a hail of bullets.
He had attributed the May 2014 shooting to what he said was his refusal to file a statement in defence of President Kenyatta’s International Criminal Court (ICC) case.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: news@pulselive.co.ke