Legal battles against former Kiambi Governor Ferdinand Waititu have increased as his predecessor, William Kabogo, has revived a case that questioned his integrity and academic qualifications.
Mr Kabogo, through lawyer Issa Mansour, said he is pursuing an appeal against a High Court judgement that struck out the case in 2016.
The appeal was scheduled for hearing this week by Justices Asike Makhandia, Fatuma Sichale and Jamila Mohammed sitting in Nairobi.
The judges asked whether Mr Kabogo was still interested in pursuing the case now that the political affairs between him and Mr Waititu had cooled down.
Mr Mansour said the issues raised have merit and that the legal question remains.
However, the judges declined to grant Mr Kabogo a hearing, noting he had not served Mr Waititu with a hearing notice.
They directed that the registration of the case be struck out from the court’s cause list and be listed afresh, and for parties to take new hearing dates.
JURISDICTION
In the appeal, Mr Kabogo wants the judges to set aside a finding made by Justice Joseph Onguto, that the High Court had no jurisdiction to determine the questions he had raised against Mr Waititu — his leadership, integrity and ability to hold a public office.
Justice Onguto, in his decision on December 7, 2016, also directed Mr Kabogo to pay Mr Waititu the costs of the lawsuit, which amounted to Sh5.3 million.
“Issues of integrity could be dogging Waititu but it is not for this court to determine whether the issues are well founded,” the judge stated while referring Mr Kabogo to alternative forums.
He added that where the Constitution has placed faith on institutions to undertake certain functions, the courts must also extend that faith to those institutions.
KABOGO’S PRAYERS
Mr Kabogo claimed Mr Waititu’s degree from Punjab University in India was fake and that he was not qualified to hold public office.
He also wanted a declaration that “Ferdinand Ndung’u Waititu is a distinct person from Clifford Ndung’u Waititu”.
The former governor said he was aware that Mr Waititu, by way of an Affidavit sworn on January 11, 2013, claimed that he was the same person as Clifford Ndung’u Waititu, who sat for the Certificate of Primary education at Mbagathi Primary School in 1975.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
“The false deposition amounts to identity theft in law. Such an act by the Respondent constitutes criminal conduct punishable under the Penal Code and violates Section 13 of the Leadership and Integrity Act,” he told the court.
RELEVANT BODIES
But the judge ruled that the issue could be dealt with by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
“The Leadership and Integrity Act was enacted as a derivative statute to give effect to Chapter Six of the Constitution. The Act specifically empowers the EACC to oversee the implementation and enforcement thereof,” the judge said.
“It is thus incumbent that any person, who feels the Act has been contravened, ought to move to the relevant bodies charged with the mandate under the Act.”
The judge further ruled that the court could not sit to investigate matters of alleged forgeries of academic documents as invited by Mr Kabogo, and neither could the court make conclusions pertaining to those allegations in the absence of evidence.
