Judge declines to bar Sonko from serving as NEDP party leader
National
By
Nancy Gitonga
| Oct 31, 2026
The High Court has declined to issue orders barring former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko from holding a leadership position in the National Economic Development Party (NEDP).
Justice Roselyne Aburili on Friday rejected a plea by lawyer Nick Sanare to issue conservatory orders blocking Sonko from assuming, exercising or purporting to exercise the powers of party leader or any other position within the party's governing body pending determination of a fresh petition challenging his eligibility.
"I have perused the petition and application by way of Notice of Motion dated October 23, 2026, filed under certificate of urgency, and am not satisfied that the same are urgent for ex parte consideration. I decline to certify them," the judge ruled.
The application was filed by Sanare, an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya and managing partner at Sanare & Associates Advocates, who is challenging Sonko's eligibility to serve as a party leader, founding member, or hold any other position within NEDP's governing body following his impeachment as Nairobi governor.
In the petition, Sanare argues that Sonko is constitutionally disqualified from holding leadership positions in political parties after his removal from office on December 17, 2020, over charges including abuse of office and gross misconduct.
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He contends that the impeachment was upheld by the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, disqualifying Sonko from holding positions in the governing body of a political party.
He relies on Article 75(3) of the Constitution and Sections 7(3)(d) and 13 of the Political Parties Act, arguing that the provisions bar persons disqualified from public office or found to have contravened Chapter Six of the Constitution from serving in political party leadership.
The lawyer wants the court to permanently restrain Sonko from exercising any party leadership position within NEDP's governing body, irrespective of the title assigned to him.
He has also sought orders stopping the Registrar of Political Parties from registering, recognising or gazetting Sonko as a founding member or official of NEDP or any other political party.
Further, he wants the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) prohibited from accepting or acting upon nomination certificates, party lists or other documents signed by Sonko in his purported capacity as a party official.
The petitioner has also asked the court to compel the Registrar of Political Parties to disclose NEDP's registration documents, list of founding members and governing body officials, alongside records relating to proposed changes in the party's leadership published in the Kenya Gazette on October 9, 2026.
Justice Aburili directed Sanare to serve the petition and application upon all respondents and the interested party, who will have 10 days from the date of service to file their responses.
The petitioner will thereafter have 10 days to file further affidavits, if any. The matter will be mentioned on November 23, 2026, for further directions.
The latest case comes barely weeks after Sonko filed a fresh constitutional petition seeking to overturn the June 24, 2021 judgment that upheld his impeachment as Nairobi governor.
In the separate case, Sonko argues that the participation of former High Court judge Said Juma Chitembwe in the bench that dismissed his impeachment challenge compromised judicial independence and his right to a fair hearing.
He wants the 2021 judgment and subsequent appellate decisions declared invalid, alongside orders suspending their continued enforcement and reliance pending determination of his petition.
The two cases raise separate but related questions about the legal consequences of Sonko's impeachment and his continued political ambitions.
Neither the substantive orders sought by Sanare nor the final reliefs in Sonko's fresh impeachment petition have been determined.