Mombasa Wiper gubernatorial aspirant Mike Mbuvi Sonko has maintained that he is not shelving his elective ambitions despite the statement made by Chief Justice Martha Koome on Friday, May 20 that all impeached politicians are ineligible to hold public office until their verdicts are overturned.

A fiery Sonko was addressing journalists when he quoted part of the constitution that guided the matter in question, calling out the CJ for disregarding clauses that address the matter of impeachment and the legal process behind it.

"Here it says that a person is not disqualified unless all possibility of appeal or review of the relevant sentence has been exhausted. Mine was an impeachment and all charges they put on me are still pending in the Anti-Corruption Court, they still have not convicted me for abuse of office, why should I be held by politicians?" he posed while reading out the clause.

"I want Koome to tell us where it says that my impeachment has to be set aside because as far as I know, the Constitution stipulates that I should exhaust all my appeals," Sonko stated.

He found fault in her choice to air the matter on the radio and accused her of setting a bad example for subordinate judges who look up to her in the judicial system and maintained that he did not have any apologies to make.

Sonko vowed to continue popularizing his bid, as he will not be deterred from delivering his vision to the people of Mombasa.

"Mimi nitaendelea na campaign. This thing is not about Sonko, vita ya Mombasa is about change (I will continue with my campaigns, this thing is not about Sonko, the battle for Mombasa is about change)" he remarked.

CJ Koome in her radio interview stated that an impeached leader remains impeached until a superior court lifts the impeachment and filing an appeal to reverse a sentence or an impeachment did not mean the conviction was set aside.

“It’s a legal conundrum. On one hand, we have a case where a particular MP who was found guilty by a competent court and sentenced then appealed is allowed to run yet when it comes to people who’ve been impeached, it doesn’t seem to apply because if you’re impeached you’re permanently impeached even if you have a case in court you’re still impeached,” she said.

“And so is the sentencing. If you have been sentenced, you are actually sentenced until the sentence is set aside. The appeal does not take away the sentence,” she added.