High Court to determine Martin Wambora’s fate on March 10

Embattled Embu Governor Martin Nyaga Wambora (left in the pew) at Kerugoya High Court Monday. [PHOTO: Munene Kamau/STANDARD]

By WAINAINA NDUNG’U

KERUGOYA: Embattled Embu Governor Martin Wambora remains in office until March 10 when the High Court will rule whether he continues to hold office pending the hearing of a case challenging his impeachment.

Wambora’s lawyers Paul Muite and Ahmednassir Abdullahi asked the High Court sitting in Keruguoya to prevent Embu Deputy Governor Dorothy Nditi from being sworn in as the governor pending the full hearing of the case.

As a pensive Wambora and his supporters listened keenly in the packed courtroom, Muite told Justices Hedwig Ond’ungi, Cecilia Githua and Boaz Olao that allowing Ms Nditi to be sworn in would be tantamount to approving the impeachment process that is being challenged in the same court.

OPEN DEFIANCE

Muite told the bench to restore the respect and authority of the Judiciary, especially after the open defiance earlier shown by the Senate and the Embu County Assembly on court orders barring them from proceeding with impeachment of the governor.

“Because they acted when court orders were in place, all the proceedings of the Embu County Assembly and Senate should be treated as a nullity” said Muite. “This court must show that court orders cannot be issued in vain,” he said.

Muite also told the court that it was erroneous for the Senate to seek to impose its view on supremacy of Parliament without having sought a constitutional interpretation of the same from the courts.

But lawyer Kibe Mungai for Ms Nditi called for the rejection of the application saying the court could not act merely on assumptions that a court order was violated especially when that was a matter for determination in the main application.

“This court cannot assume or infer that any person has disobeyed its orders without first making a specific finding that this indeed happened,” said Mungai.

POWER VACUUM

Ms Nditi’s lawyer told the court that they foresaw a long, drawn out legal dispute likely to end up in the Supreme Court with the risk of a dangerous long-term power vacuum in Embu County.

“Ms Nditi does not want to become a victim of this vacuum of power which was one of circumstances that precipitated the impeachment of Governor Wambora,” Mungai told the court.

He said the deputy governor intends to demonstrate in the main case that there was no valid court order barring the Senate from impeaching Wambora as the court injunction had been issued against the Speaker and not the House.

In the meantime, the parties have 14 days to serve and reply to amended notices of motion after the court decided to consolidate various applications related to the impeachment.