Governor Susan Kihika faces sentencing in Nakuru CECs case

A Nakuru court has found Governor Susan Kihika guilty of refusing to obey a court order.

Judge Hellen Wasilwa had in December 2022 ordered the governor to appoint 10 county ministers afresh following a dispute. In the case, the court declared the appointments unconstitutional.

Following the court’s decision Ms Kihika released a new list of nominees replacing one of the nominees.

In the new list Governor Kihika had appointed Dr Nelson Tanui (Water and Environment), Dr Jackline Osoro (Health), Stephen Muiruri (Trade, Culture and Tourism), John Karanja (Land and Physical Planning), Leonard Kipkoech (Agriculture), Roselyn Wanjiru (Public Service Management), Josephine Atieno (Sports, Gender Culture and Social Services), Zipporah Wambui (Education, Youth and ICT), Stephen Njogu (Finance and Economic Planning) and Michael Kamau (Infrastructure).

The petitioner, Dr Benjamin Gikenyi Magare, moved back to court seeking to have her punished for disobeying court orders.

In his application Dr Magare accused the governor of reintroducing the same list that was quashed by court and changing one name to make it appear like a new list.

“Due process was not followed in the nominations, vetting and swearing in of the CECs,” said Gikenyi

He argued that the governor, despite being aware of the orders of the court, went ahead to reintroduce nine of the 10 nominees, three days after the orders were issued.

“Once they were sworn in, the court could not intervene. It was a deliberate move by the county to ensure that by the time petitions were filed against the appointment, the swearing in would have been done,” he submitted.

He sought to have Ms Kihika held in contempt of court and either be fined or be committed to a civil jail.

Governor Kihika, however, in her defense denied the allegations of contempt and maintained that she followed the law in her new nomination.

Through her lawyer Professor Tom Ojienda, she argued that the new list was made public, insisting that she followed the due process in her new recruitment.

“She acted upon the issuance of the court orders. No other order was issued quashing the new list of her nominees,” Prof Ojienda said.

In her ruling on Tuesday morning, Justice Wasilwa ruled that Ms Kihika did not follow the correct procedure as directed by court.

The judge said the governor acted contrary to the court order.

“The court rules that the new lists are presumably the same as the old one, save for one name. It is clear that the governor disobeyed court orders,” ruled Wasilwa.

The judge directed the governor to appear in court in person on April 18 for sentencing.

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