A complaint has been filed at the Political Parties Tribunal challenging businessman Jimi Wanjigi’s presidential bid.
The petition by Nyeri politician Catherine Irungu accuses the businessman’s party, ODM, of failing to conduct an objective Ethics and Integrity test on the business mogul turned politician, allowing him to act with impunity, including slandering the party leader Raila Odinga, causing confusion by laying out parallel structures like offices yet he is not a proper ODM member.
“That the respondent (ODM) has jointly and severally joined efforts with strangers to the party including the interested party herein (Wanjigi), to embarrass the functioning and integrity of the political party of nationwide repute,” a section of the filed document reads.
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Irungu argues it is unconstitutional for Jimi Wanjigi to campaign as it also undermines the party’s position as a reputable party nationwide.
“That the respondent has jointly and severally joined efforts with strangers to the party including the interested party herein, with an aim of embarrassing the functioning and integrity of the political party of nationwide repute,” the court documents read.
Irungu told the court that the party did not make it certain that Wanjigi completed the entrenched temporal requirements for membership as the constitution dictates before announcing his candidature.
According to the Nyeri politician, Wanjigi’s move has thrown the ODM into confusion therefore should be retracted promptly.
In the petition, Irungu notes that Wanjigi has been adversely mentioned with regard to his moral fitness and ethical ethos and that the party is obligated to investigate the veracity of the said allegations.
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“I am persuaded that ODM should mandatorily conduct this test prior to forwarding a candidate’s name to the unsuspecting public in an election. Internal vetting processes are mandatory to each political party,” she said.
Jimi Wanjigi has declared he will take on ODM leader Raila Odinga in the orange party’s primaries to pick its 2022 presidential flagbearer.
