Embu Speaker to face contempt charges over Wambora's impeachment
Embu Governor Martin Wambora. Senators Wednesday stuck to their guns and insisted that Embu Governor Martin Wambora remains impeached, despite a Court of Appeal ruling setting aside the impeachment. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Embu Speaker Justus Mate and County Assembly Clerk Jim Kauma will face contempt of court charges before the Kerugoya High Court over Governor Martin Wambora's impeachment.
Mr Mate and Mr Kauma had moved to the Court of Appeal challenging their summons by Kerugoya High Court judges Cecilia Githua, Hedwig Ong’udi and Boaz Olao.
But Court of Appeal judges in Nyeri on Tuesday failed to absolve the two of contempt of court charges and referred them back to the Kerugoya High Court.
Appellate judges Alnashir Visram, Martha Koome and Otieno Odek said the two had clearly defied the Kerugoya High Court orders preventing them from discussing an impeachment motion at the Embu County Assembly.
Through their advocate, Charles Njenga, the appellants had earlier said that they never personally received the court orders issued by the High Court judges barring the county assembly from debating Mr Wambora's impeachment.
Mr Njenga said that the orders were instead handed over to Mr Kauma’s secretary and a staff of the assembly.
The respondents, through senior counsel Paul Muite, countered the claims, saying there was no reason Mr Kauma’s secretary and the staff of the assembly were not supposed to have received the order of service affidavits as there was no evidence presented before the court to show that they were not acting on behalf of fellow staff members.
