Shinyalu MP Silverse Lisamalu gets reprieve as court bars Speaker from declaring seat vacant

By ISAIAH LUCHELI

KISUMU, KENYA: Shinyalu MP Silverse Lisamalu got a reprieve after the Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Court of Appeal to nullify his election.

The Supreme Court restrained the Speaker of the National Assembly from declaring the seat vacant and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from setting the date or preparing for the by-election until the matter was heard and determined.

In an application filed under a certificate of urgency, the MP through lawyers Anthony Lubulellah and Wilfred Mutubua argued that the three-judge bench sitting in Kisumu, which nullified his election, had exhibited bias in reaching the decision to annul his election. “The learned judges of the Court of Appeal breached their fidelity to the Constitution when they descended into the arena of litigation,” read the application in part.