Chief Justice Martha Koome has appointed a three-judge bench to hear and determine the case on the integrity of candidates vying in the August general election.
Justice David Majanja will preside over the bench and will work together with justices Chacha Mwita and Mugure Thande.
A section of activists and advocates had gone to court wanting the court to bar politicians with ongoing cases in court from vying.
Okiya Omtatah pleaded with the court to compel the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) not to clear persons with integrity questions to vie for any elective posts.
Omtatah argues that the presumption of innocence until proven guilty should not apply to the politicians’ cases.
He further argues that it is wrong for someone to say that unless convicted by a court of law and all appeals exhausted, they cannot be barred from getting clearance from the electoral commission.
He also wants the court to declare that IEBC has the power to bar any person who does not satisfy any moral and ethical requirements prescribed by the Constitution or by an Act of Parliament from vying in the upcoming elections.
“Persons who have previously been removed from office through impeachment should be barred from holding any public office pending the hearing of the case,” court papers read.
He further said the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and Commission on Administration of Justice have a duty to vet and bar individuals implicated in corruption from running for public office.
“The blatant disregard of the provisions on leadership and integrity as espoused under Chapter Six leads to poor governance and encourages abuse,” he said.
According to court papers, allowing such aspirants to contest for public office is an assault on Chapter Six of the Constitution and a mockery of the supreme law.
