Omari on the spot for filing case without complainant's consent

Lawyer Danstan Omari addresses the media outside Milimani Courts on the petition filed against Governor Paul Otuoma. [David Gichuru, Standard]

A city lawyer is on the spot after it emerged on Monday that he allegedly filed a Sh100 million compensation case without the petitioner’s knowledge and consent.

In the matter before High Court judge, Gregory Mutai, lawyer Danstan Omari filed a suit seeking Sh100 million damages against Busia Governor Paul Otuoma over allegations of hitting a boda boda rider in the groin.

The new revelation came when lawyer Evans Okumu, representing boda boda rider Yusuf Suleiman Hamisi, told Justice Gregory Mutai of the Milimani High Court that he disowned both the suit and lawyer Danstan Omari.

Omari had filed a constitutional petition in Hamisi’s name without his instructions, knowledge, consent, or signature on the supporting affidavit.

“The petitioner (Yusuf Suleiman Hamisi) herein did not instruct the firm of lawyer Danstan Omari to file any petition on his behalf, and neither did he sign the affidavit in support of the same. The same was obtained fraudulently by the firm of lawyer Omari,” Okumu told the judge.

The case, which had drawn national attention following a viral video of an alleged assault incident in March, was filed by the firm of Danstan Omari and Associates.

Filed as Petition E182 of 2026, the matter was brought by city lawyer Omari, who claimed to represent Hamisi in a suit accusing Governor Paul Otuoma of allegedly kicking him in the groin during a public seed distribution exercise in Busia County.

It described how Hamisi, 31, was standing in an orderly queue at Bukri Market in Funyula constituency when Governor Otuoma allegedly confronted him in Swahili "wewe toka hapo" (you, get out of there), before delivering what the documents called a deliberate and forceful flying kick directly to the victim's groin area.

The petition sought Sh100 million in compensation, an order compelling the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to act, a public apology from the governor, and his impeachment, on the grounds that the alleged assault was contrary to Luhya cultural values and rendered him unfit for office.

It was, on paper, a comprehensive and meticulously drafted constitutional petition.

The problem, according to lawyer Okumu, who appeared on behalf of Hamisi yesterday in court proceedings, was that the man at the centre of it all knew nothing about it.

Okumu revealed to the virtual court session that he had physically travelled with Hamisi from western Kenya to Nairobi, in compliance with court orders requiring the petitioner to appear in person.

Hamisi had been compelled to personally attend court to disassociate himself from the petition and clarify that he had never engaged Omari.

"I've had to travel with the petitioner from Western. He is present with me just around the precincts of the court as earlier ordered," Okumu said.

According to court proceedings, the issue first arose when Omari’s law firm filed an urgent application dated April 27, 2026, seeking to cease acting in the matter.

Omari himself did not appear. Instead, his firm sent lawyer Shadrack Wambui, who indicated that lawyer Omari had filed an application and affidavit seeking to withdraw from the case even before the substantive issues were heard.

“The application is dated April 27, 2026. The application is supported by an affidavit sworn by Mr Danstan Omari on the very same date, my lord. We wish with humility to be excused from these proceedings,” Wambui told the court.

Governor Otuoma's lawyer, Evans Bwire argued that the petition could not stand if it lacked the petitioner’s authority from the outset.

"If the firm of Lawyer Danstan Omari, which filed the problematic petition, ceases to act, and there is a party saying the petitioner never instructed Omari to file the petition, what then happens to this petition filed without instructions?" Bwire argued.

"Our position... would be that, by implication, the application to strike out the petition has invariably to be granted."

Petitioner’s lawyer, Okumu, also asked the court to order Omari's firm to bear costs for his own travel, the petitioner's travel, and associated expenses.

Governor Otuoma's legal team has similarly sought costs, arguing that the governor's name was needlessly dragged through public controversy.

"The people of Busia County are asking themselves what the fate of their governor is with respect to this matter. Costs have to follow the event, particularly in circumstances such as this one," Bwire told the court.

Justice Mutai first allowed Omari’s application to withdraw from the case without opposition from any party.

“The application dated April 27, 2026, filed by the firm of Omari and Associates is hereby allowed… He is hereby allowed to cease to act,” the judge ruled.

The judge also dismissed the petition filed by lawyer Omari on behalf of the purported petitioner Hamisi, after it emerged that it was filed without his consent.

“As the application dated April 22, 2026, is not opposed, the same is allowed in part. The petition number E182 of 2026 is hereby struck out,” Justice Mutai directed.

After Justice Mutai allowed Omari to exit the proceedings, advocate Wambui made a swift and silent departure from the virtual platform before the heavier questions of costs and accountability could be directed at him.

The judge repeatedly called out Wambui’s name to address issues of potential liability arising from the proceedings, but he did not respond, having already exited the court session.

However, the petitioner’s lawyer, Okumu, told the court that Wambui’s exit appeared calculated.

“It was a strategy, my lord, so that he does not carry the burden of what was raised. It was a callous strategy by Mr Wambui," Okumu told the judge

The judge, however, deferred the determination of costs to a later date when Omari or his lawyer will be present.

“Regarding costs, the issue shall be canvassed on July 1, 2026… the firm of Danstan Omari and Associates shall be served. Parties are at liberty to file skeletal submissions,” he directed.

Hamisi, the boda boda rider who became famous for a kick he says he suffered in silence, now finds himself at the centre of a different scandal entirely: one not about a governor's boot, but about a lawyer's pen.