Three petitioners want Matiang’i ordered to declare Monday public holiday

Three people have filed a petition seeking to compel the Ministry of Interior to declare Monday, August 29, a public holiday as Mombasa and Kakamega counties head to the ballot following postponement of their gubernatorial elections.

The three Mombasa residents - Thani Mohamed, Moses Aran and Kevin Nzuki - through their lawyer Willis Oluga submitted that the court should allow residents of the aforementioned counties to exercise their democratic right of voting, owing to the fact that Monday is traditionally a working day.

Lawyer Oluga argued that failure to declare Monday a holiday would be discrimination against the residents in the said areas.

The petitioners had earlier moved to court seeking to bar the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from postponing the elections past August 30, 2022.

Lawyer Emmanuel Makuto, representing the Attorney General, however maintained that the said date had not been formally set for the elections but was only subject to media reports, further adding that the issue of a public holiday was not on the table.

Justice Stephen Githinji directed the parties to file their applications before delivering his ruling on the issue.

On Monday, IEBC announced that Governor elections in Mombasa and Kakamega and all other postponed elections would be held on August 29.

The other six elections are Member of the National Assembly polls in Kitui Rural Constituency (Kitui County), Kacheliba Constituency (West Pokot County), Pokot South Constituency (West Pokot County) and Rongai Constituency (Nakuru County).

Elections for Member of County Assembly Wards were also postponed in Kwa Njenga (Embakasi South Constituency - Nairobi County) and Nyaki West (North Imenti Constituency - Meru County).

The petition follows INterior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang'i's declaration of August 9th a public holiday during the General Election.