Three Isiolo County officials to serve six months in jail over Sh3.9 million contempt

Three Isiolo County officials face six months in jail after a court cited them for contempt over failure to pay Sh3.9 million owed to a law firm. [File Courtesy]

Isiolo Environment and  Labour Court has ordered the arrest and jailing of three county officials over what it termed as contempt.

Justice Mboya Ogutu in his ruling issued the warrant of arrest against the trio after he cited them for contempt, over a payment owed to law firm Mbogo and Muriuki, for legal services it had provided.

The court had on November 24, 2025, ordered the full sum of Sh3, 970, 336 be paid to the law firm, but the amount remains unsettled.

County Police Commander Isaac Sang was ordered by the court to execute the warrant of arrest against County Secretary Dade Boru, Chief Officer Finance, ICT and Economic Planning Habiba Galgalo Jirma and Finance, ICT and Economic Planning Executive Luqman Abdi.

Prosecution lawyer Ken Muriuki said that although the court had issued orders in November last year, they had been disregarded and ignored by the respondents.

It was also contended that, though the orders, together with warrants of arrest, were served upon Commander Sang, he had failed, neglected, and or refused to adhere to the orders of the court.

It was averred that the commander was equally guilty of disobedience of court orders.

Oguttu said the three county officers remained guilty of contempt and stand committed to jail, and are to serve the term of committal at Meru GK Prison.

“The contemnors be and are hereby committed to serve six months sentence at Meru GK Prison in line with orders issued November 24, 2025,” the judge said.

Noting that the commander had not executed the warrants and the officers had not settled the payment, Oguttu warned that court orders were not mere suggestions or wishes, which afford the addressees latitude to choose whether to abide or not.

“Simply put, the addresses of court orders have an unqualified right to obey, and there is no option, until the orders are either set aside or rescinded, but to comply,” he warned.

He said, “It is common ground that this court issued orders on November 24, 2025, and whereupon the court directed that the respondents do pay to the applicant 50 per cent of the decretal sum within 14 days from the date of the order. Moreover, the court also made a further order that in the event of default, the persons who had already been found guilty of contempt were to stand committed to jail for a duration of six months,” he said.

He said the orders were made after submissions and concessions by the parties, hence were essentially consensual.

Justice Oguttu said the disobedience of court orders amounted to willful failure or refusal to comply.

“Moreover, it is worthy to recall that the court commanded that the contemnors do attend physically or present themselves to court, but they failed/refused to do so. In addition, it is not lost on me that no plausible, cogent, or credible reason was tendered to underpin the failure by the contemnors to attend court.”

He said that, though the counsel of the Finance Executive claimed he had failed to do so because he was outside the country, no documents were placed before the court to vindicate that assertion.

“It thus remains a mere assertion, propagated by learned counsel, albeit from the bar. It is devoid of probative value; and thus, the same does not constitute sufficient cause.”

Oguttu said the police commander also failed to execute the warrants of arrest.

“To my mind, the county police commander, Isiolo County, in his wisdom (or want of it), deemed the orders of the court as worthless; trash and undeserving of deference. Such kind of conduct does not sit well with the provisions of Article 232 of the Constitution 2010.”