Impeachment: Sonko filed appeal on time, says registrar
Registrar of the Supreme Court Letizia Wachira on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, confirmed that former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko filed an appeal challenging his impeachment within the stipulated time.
Wachira, in a letter, claims the appeal was lodged in the online system on April 4 and a hard copy presented to the registry on May 20.
Lawyer Duncan Okatch had protested to the Registrar, claiming that there was an alteration made in the e-filing system regarding the time Sonko’s appeal was filed.
He claimed the dates were altered after a preliminary objection and an application based on the appeal timelines were filed seeking to strike out Sonko’s appeal.
“The import of this letter is to inform you that not only did the petitioner (Sonko) fail to comply with the Supreme Court rules with regards to appeals timelines, but has also interfered with the Judiciary e-filing system,” Okatch claimed in the letter.
Registrar, however, confirmed that there were no alterations made on the filing dates as alleged by the advocate.
“Our ICT officers have checked our online filing system and confirmed that there has been no change or attempt to change the filing dates,” Registrar stated.
Nairobi County Assembly and Governor Anne Kananu filed a preliminary objection to the Supreme Court seeking to have Sonko’s appeal thrown out for being filed out of time.
Kananu in an affidavit claimed Sonko filed the petition on May 20, which was outside the prescribed time frame. However, Sonko, in response, insisted on filing the appeal on time and asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the preliminary objection filed by the Assembly and County Government.
