Activist seeks to protect Auditor General from attack

Activist Okiya Omtatah (left) consults with lawyer Robert Asembo outside Milimani Law Court on February 16, 2017. Mr Omtatah wants to protect the Auditor General from being sacked. PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The activist terms the move as a deliberate violation of rights of Mr Ouko to a fair trial and good reputation.
  • He wants the court to issue an order stopping the removal of Mr Ouko from office and that the sued parties be barred from doing so.

An activist has moved to court seeking to shield Auditor-General Edward Ouko from allegations of wasting public funds.

In a suit filed at the High Court, Mr Okiya Omtatah initiated legal proceedings against the National Assembly, its Speaker, the Attorney-General and Mr Emmanuel Mwagambo Mwagonah over an imminent intent to remove Mr Ouko from office.

Mr Ouko, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the National Police Service, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Senate are listed as interested parties in the case.

Mr Omtatah claims there is a spirited campaign to have Mr Ouko ousted from his position yet he is a diligent worker

He has accused Mr Mwagonah, who petitioned Parliament to have the Auditor-General sacked, and the Speaker of abusing their powers by aiding the orchestration of a plan aimed at removing Mr Ouko from office.

The activist terms the move as a deliberate violation of rights of Mr Ouko to a fair trial and good reputation.

“It is in the public domain that Mr Ouko is a marked man for diligently performing his duties under the law, hence this matter is of extreme public interest and an urgent one as the actions complained of contravene the Constitution yet it is being fast-tracked,” said Mr Omtatah.

He wants the court to issue an order stopping the removal of Mr Ouko from office and that the sued parties be barred from doing so.