Voters challenge Magelo’s election as Nairobi County Speaker

Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Alex ole Magelo. (Photo:Standard)

By Wahome Thuku

Nairobi, Kenya:Two voters have filed a suit seeking to have the election of Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Alex ole Magelo nullified.

The two Crispus Fwamba and Benjamin Hinga Njeri filed the case at the Milimani Commercial Court in Nairobi and were granted permission to file a suit against the Transitional Authority and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The Transition Authority is the body that oversees the devolvement of power and services from the central government to the county governments.

They want the Authority’s decision to order for the election of the Speaker quashed on the ground that they were unconstitutional.

The two argue that under Article 177 of the constitution, a count y assembly must be constituted by elected and nominated members from county wards.

 When Magelo was elected on March 22 the county assembly did not have nominated members.

Magelo, a long serving councilor and the chairman of AFC soccer club, was elected Speaker under the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord). He got 43 votes against Paul Mutungi of Jubilee Alliance who got 42 in the second round of voting.

The voters were allowed to file a suit and seek to compel the Authority to order for fresh election of Speaker that would involve all the members of the county assembly.

 Justice Weldon Korir allowed them to seek court orders to have the Authority compelled to declare the seat vacant and to re-advertise it.

Further, the court allowed them to seek orders prohibiting the IEBC from gazzetting anyone as Speaker of the county.

 The judge, however, declined to order the suspension of Magelo’s election since it already been held.

 He ordered that the voters serve the Nairobi County with the papers and also enjoin the Attorney General as interested parties.

 The case is likely to trigger other similar ones where elections of County Assembly Speakers were held before some members had been appointed.

 Nominated members should be from marginalized groups including disables as well as the youth.

 Under Article 178 of the constitution, a Speaker of a County Assembly can only be elected from among persons who are not members of the assembly.

 Magelo had vied for the Kajiado West National Assembly seat but lost.

The case will be mentioned on April 8.