Relief for expelled Nyamira MCAs after court reinstates them

The 10 Members of Nyamira County Assembly who were suspended four days ago have got relief after the High Court reinstated them, pending the hearing of their petition against the action. Nyamira High Court Resident Judge Wilfrida Okwany handed the MCAs the temporal relief after she dismissed a counter application by the Assembly dismissing them on grounds that the decision by the Assembly was final and was not subject to appeal. The House's advocate Mokua Ndubi argued that the High Court had no jurisdiction to hear the case that was filed by the MCAs since its resolutions were final. In response, Justice Okwany said the Court had powers to hear such matters especially owing to the fact that violation of the constitution had been cited in the application, citing precedence from the Supreme Court of Kenya ruling over a decision that was once made by the National Assembly but was later challenged in the arbitration body. The Ward Reps had moved to Court to seek redress of the Assembly's plenary decision to strike them out of the payroll, as well as sending some of them away for 10 weeks and 16 weeks respectively. The 10 MCAs who were suspended and are enjoined in the petition are Lameck Sikweya(Itibo Ward), who will miss 16 sittings, Abel Mose(Magwagwa), who will miss 10 sittings, as well as Joel Ombongi(Bokeira), who will not attend the Assembly for 16 sittings. Those who were expelled are the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Party Chairman, who is also Rigoma Ward Rep Nyambega Gisesa, Martha Marua(ANC), Janerose Nafula Nyakundi(ODM), Jeriah Nyakangi(UPA), Zipporah Matundura(Wiper), Elijah Abere(UPA), Ednah Obara(UPA), and Beatrice Onyancha(UPA). In the sworn affidavits that were presented before the Court, the Reps argued that their suspensions were illegal, especially owing to the fact that there were many cases that were pending before the same courts that directly touched on the many issues surrounding governance of the Assembly. "The respondents unlawfully invoked Section 194(b) of the Constitution to declare vacant the seats of the elected and minted members of the County Assembly. These actions were not only procedurally irregular but also substantively unconstitutional since the actions were taken even with the fact that critical and related matters were pending in court," the application that was filed by their advocate Mr Zelmer Bonuke read in part. He further told the court that the Committee of Powers and Privileges, which undertook the disciplinary process, lacked the mandate to do invoke the section of the constitution that guided their decision. According to the counsel, there are about 15 cases of the Nyamira County Assembly lying in various courts across the country and which need not be overlooked by the Assembly while considering disciplinary procedures against the representatives. The case will be heard on July 30.

Relief for expelled Nyamira MCAs after court reinstates them

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Relief for expelled Nyamira MCAs after court reinstates them

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