Court stops replacement of impeached Wajir Governor Mohamed Abdi
Wajir Governor Mohamed Abdi Mohamud before a Senate committee at Parliament buildings, during his impeachment trial on charges of abuse of office, which began on May 12, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Justice Otieno certified as urgent the application by Mr Aden Ibrahim, Omar Jele, Bishar Ahmed, Safiya Mahammed and Yussuf Ibrahim, who are seeking nullification of the impeachment.
A Meru High Court on Tuesday stopped the replacement of Mohamed Abdi Mohamud as Wajir governor despite his impeachment by the Senate.
Justice Patrick Jeremy Otieno also stopped the swearing-in of Wajir Deputy Governor Ahmed Mukhtar as the new county boss until a case filed by five county residents is heard and determined.
The judge further suspended implementation of the Kenya Gazette notice of May 17, which announced the Senate's resolution to remove the governor on abuse of office charges.
Justice Otieno certified as urgent the application by Mr Aden Ibrahim, Omar Jele, Bishar Ahmed, Safiya Mahammed and Yussuf Ibrahim, who are seeking nullification of the impeachment.
They have named the Senate, Speaker Kenneth Lusaka, the Wajir County Assembly, its clerk Shalle Sheikh, Speaker Ibrahim Ahmed and Tulatula MCA Abdullahi Issack as respondents.
Justice Otieno allowed the petitioners to amend their original application so as to include Mr Mukhtar, the chief registrar of the High Court and the Assumption Of The Office Of County Governor Committee as interested parties.
He said that during that period, the chief registrar of the High Court should not allocate a judge to swear-in Mr Mukhtar as governor, while the committee should not gazette the date and time of oath-taking by the deputy governor.
Orders sought
Through lawyers Ndegwa Njiru, Kiogora Mugambi and Ndegwa Mwangi, the applicants want the Senate’s resolution nullified as it was conducted while there was a court order stopping it.
They argued that the High Court issued orders on April 29, stopping the Senate from discussing the resolution by the County Assembly of Wajir to impeach Mr Abdi.
The petitions said that since the respondents had disregarded court orders, if the swearing-in went on, it would amount to condoning abuse and disobedience to court orders.
“Guided by the expediency to swear-in the deputy governor in the present case, Mr Mukhtar herein witnessed in the previous impeachment of Governor Waititu of Kiambu and Governor Sonko of Nairobi, irrespective of the pending court process challenging the impeachment process, it is incumbent on the court to protect the instant petition from rendering it an academic exercise,” said Mr Njiru.
Justice Otieno set the inter partes hearing for June 3.
