Supreme Court Registrar: Sonko filed appeal challenging impeachment on time

Supreme Court Registrar Letizia Wachira has confirmed that former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko filed an appeal challenging his impeachment on time.

In a letter dated June 21,2022, Wachira says the appeal was lodged in the court system on May 4 and the hard copy of the petition presented to the registry on May 20, 2022.

Lawyer Duncan Okatch had protested to the Supreme Court Registrar claiming that there was an alteration made in the e-filing system regarding the period Sonko’s appeal was filed.

The Registrar is however adamant that there has been no change or attempt to change the filling dates.

Okatch had earlier claimed the dates were altered after a preliminary objection and an application based on the timelines of the appeal were filed seeking to strike out Sonko’s petition.

“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 the Appeals timelines, but has also interfered with the Judiciary E-filing system,” Okatch said in the letter.

In a related matter, Nairobi Governor Anne Kananu and the city’s County Assembly have filed an application before the Supreme Court seeking to have Sonko’s appeal dismissed on grounds that it was filed late.

“That failure of the appellant to file the petition of appeal within 30 days only shows that the appellant was no longer interested in the appeal,” read court papers.