Reprieve for Prof Muga as court overturns his impeachment
The accident and emergency department at Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral hospital.
What you need to know:
- Labour Relations Court sitting in Kisumu rules that Prof Richard Muga was impeached unprocedurally by MCAs on May 17, 2021.
Homa Bay County Health Executive Prof Richard Muga can breathe a sigh of relief after the Employment and Labour Relations Court reinstated him to office.
This follows his impeachment by the County Assembly in May over alleged incompetence, abuse of office and gross violation of the Constitution, among other accusations.
The Labour Relations Court sitting in Kisumu ruled that he was impeached unprocedurally by MCAs on May 17, 2021.
County assembly report
His impeachment was based on a county assembly report that exposed the deplorable state of the Homa Bay County Referral Hospital, with MCAs accusing him of sleeping on the job.
The report laid bare the poor state of the hospital, concluding that patients could not get basic drugs like paracetamol.
The hospital facilities were found to be run down, including dirty toilets.
Impeachment
Following the findings, a Motion was tabled before MCAs who resolved that Prof Muga be impeached.
The MCAs asked Governor Cyprian Awiti to sack Prof Muga saying he had contributed to the suffering of patients.
But the county executive filed a petition in the industrial court challenging his impeachment.
He sued the Homa Bay County Assembly on grounds that his removal from office contravened his constitutional rights, even as the legislative House defended its decision to remove him from office.
Employment and Labour Relations Court Judge Stephen Radido ruled that Prof Muga’s removal from office was unconstitutional and that the County Assembly erred in the process.
The judge found that the county assembly did not give the executive member an opportunity to defend himself before his impeachment.
“The County Assembly did not disclose whether the petitioner was invited to make use of the further opportunity before it voted to approve the recommendation for removal,” Justice Radido ruled.
“A declaration is hereby issued that the county assembly’s resolution to remove the petitioner from his position offended its Standing Orders and violated the petitioner’s constitutional rights. The decision is unconstitutional and thus, null and void,” Justice Radido concluded the cases.
The court ordered each party in the petition to bear its own cost.
