By Alloys Musyoka
The Mombasa High Court has intervened in the ongoing political tug-of-war rocking the Kwale County Assembly by issuing a stay order on the recent replacement of three nominated Members of the County Assembly (MCAs).
In a ruling certified urgent under case number HCJR/E030/2026, Presiding Judge Hon. Justice Jairus Ngaah granted leave to applicants Augustine Ndegwa Munga, Fartun Mohammed Musa, and Rachael Katumbi Mutisya to apply for an order of certiorari to quash the decision made by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The legal showdown stems from a September 18, 2026 gazette notice issued by IEBC Chairman Erastus Ethekon, which stripped the three politicians of their seats following a protracted multi-year legal battle.
The commission's directive had sought to delete the applicants from Kwale's marginalized and gender top-up lists and replace them with Agnes Otieno, Aaron Kennedy Kavuwa, and Nurin Huka.
Crucially, Justice Ngaah ordered that the grant of leave shall operate as an immediate stay of the IEBC's decision, putting a temporary freeze on the swearing-in or assumption of office by the newly designated replacements.
The court directed the applicants to file and serve their substantive motions, while giving the electoral body and other respondents 14 days to file their rejoinders ahead of subsequent directions on case disposal.
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