Former Mombasa Mayor Taib Ali Taib, who is seeking to replace Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chair Issack Hassan, has refuted allegations that he abandoned one of his clients in a suit against the government.
Speaking when he appeared before the IEBC selection panel on Monday, Taib said he stood with his client, Mohamed Baishe, during one of the hardest times in the legal history of the nation.
Mr Baishe had sued the government for alleged wrongful detention in 1992.
“We represented Mr Baishe at a time when no one could take a case against the government. It was the 1990s, after all,” Mr Taib said, as quoted by the Nation.
Taib told the Ms Bernadette Musundi-led panel that his side has met with the complainant and explained to him the circumstances behind the case.
"I have met Mr Baishe and explained to him what we have done and hopefully the matter will be put to rest by February 2017,” he said.
The panel argued that Mr Baishe claimed that the former mayor could not be trusted with the position if he cannot defend his clients till the end.
Taib, however, said Mr Baishe lives in Lamu and is unable to get access to correspondence on the progress of the case.
Taib proposed an ethical audit to be conducted on all the members, arguing the move will uphold integrity in the commission.
“We must clean up our house (IEBC) not by word but by deed, through proper audit,” he told the panel.