Court now reverses order that favoured impeached Migori speaker

Impeached Migori County Assembly speaker Boaz Okoth. [Caleb Kingwara, Standard]

Migori County Assembly Speaker Boaz Okoth suffered a setback in the battle to keep his job after a court reversed an earlier decision that suspended his impeachment.

The decision by Justice Stephen Radido of the Employment and Labour Relations Court followed a successful application by the County Assembly and the Clerk challenging an order that granted Okoth conservatory orders suspending his impeachment.

Through lawyer Clifford Otieno, the assembly poked holes in last week's court decision that had given Okoth some reprieve and called for its review.

The lawyer told Justice Radido that Okoth failed to disclose to the court that he was facing multiple graft-related charges when he made his application.

The advocate who represented the county assembly in its case against Okoth was also said to have been representing him in the corruption-related cases, a fact the lawyer allegedly failed to disclose and which amounted to a conflict of interest.

In a matter filed under a certificate of urgency, the County Assembly and the Clerk claimed there had been an error and omission in the decision that the court delivered on February 15.

They claimed that the advocate who appeared on their behalf had appeared illegally and had failed to disclose his personal interests in the case.

“The petitioner fabricated facts in order to deceive the court and obtain stay orders extending his tenure illegally,” the County Assembly and the Clerk told the court.

Otieno claimed the speaker has two pending cases in court and one of them is related to alleged burglary.

The lawyer claimed the decision to suspend Okoth's impeachment was bound to hurt the assembly and the public if not reversed.