Sacked Tana River officers disregard order

By PAUL GITAU

TANA RIVER COUNTY: Nine members of the Tana River County Executive committee whose appointments were on Tuesday revoked by the Malindi High Court reported to work as normal despite the judgment that has sent shockwaves across several county governments.

Several lawyers and residents called The Standard offices in Mombasa seeking copies of the ruling that outlawed Tana River Governor Hussein Dado’s cabinet, saying they intend to launch copycat suits to challenge the composition of other county executive committees.

Justice Christine Meoli nullified Mr Dado’s cabinet and ruled that three tribes dominated it in a multi-tribal and diverse county and that it also composed two women out of nine members thus falling short of the constitutional one-third gender rule.

The nullification followed a petition by local resident Ibrahim Bocha, who said that Dado’s cabinet includes ethnic Orma, Wardei and Pokomo and has sidelined other tribes like Malakote, Munyoyaya, Akamba, Bajuni and other groups in the county.

In her judgment, Justice Meoli said; “The court has establish that the process of selection and appointment of the county executives was flawed for the reasons other than failure to comply with article 197(2) of the Constitution.”

She then declared: “I do therefore grant prayers of application filed on July 30, 2013 and quash the appointees of the Tana River County executives.”

The judge directed that each party to bear its costs of suit. Fear and panic spread through the power structure in Hola, the seat of the Tana River County government and was felt in many other counties of the Coast region where similar mistakes are believed to have occurred.

But the now outlawed cabinet members tried to wear a brave face with Dado trying to question the validity and soundness of the ruling. A spot check by The Standard revealed that the members reported to their offices while others were away on official duties.

Dado defended them claiming they have not received any prohibiting orders from the court.

“They will continue with their duties until we receive further directions from the court,” he noted.

Dado, however, said he has instructed lawyers to lodge an appeal against the High Court decision.

He defended his choices claiming they were within law as no members of the minority tribes had applied to join the executive committee when positions were advertised.

“The issue that my appointments were unconstitutional and I did not consider members of minority communities in the county do not hold any water. How could I have considered them yet they had not applied for the job,” he asked.

The governor promised a comprehensive statement after reading a copy of the judgment to understand the judge’s reasoning.