BID TO BLOCK JOHO FLOPS

The Mombasa County Governor elect Hassan Ali Joho heaved a sigh of relief after a constitutional court ruled that he was qualified for the position. Justice Isaac Lenaola threw out an application seeking to disqualify Joho as the Mombasa County Governor on grounds that he did not have the requisite academic qualifications for the post.

The Judge ruled that Joho had completed his degree course and had even deposited his transcripts in court as evidence. He said although the former Kisauni MP had not graduated when he presented his nominations papers in January, he was deemed to be a degree holder.

The judge further dealt a big blow to the petitioner, Janet Mbete by ordering her to pay Johos costs of the suit on grounds that she was pursuing a personal interest in the election petition. Mbete had moved to court seeking orders to stop the ODM's candidate and his running mate Ms. Hazel Katana from contesting in the Mombasa governorship race.

The petitioner claimed that Joho and Katana did not possess the valid academic qualifications to run for the gubernatorial seat. She asked the court to order the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) to produce certified copies of Joho’s and Katana’s Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) result slips.

She further asked the court to order the University of Nairobi to produce certified copies of transcripts for any degree course that Joho may have enrolled for at the university and certified documents confirming that he graduated from the same university. She wanted the university compelled to produce Katana’s degree certificate.