High Court summons Arachi over TSC boss jail order

The High Court has summoned acting Inspector-General of Police Samuel Arachi to explain why he has failed to arrest Teachers Service Commission boss Gabriel Lengoiboni.

Justice Janet Mulwa said Mr Arachi must appear in person to tell the court why orders given last week to have Mr Lengoiboni incarcerated at Kamiti Maximum Prison for six months should not be effected.

“Though unpalatable, court orders must be respected by all Kenyans, otherwise courts will be failing in their duty to dispense justice to all Kenyans without fear or failure as per the mandate given to them by the Constitution. The IG must attend court to tell us why he cannot comply with the order,” she said.

The court ruled that though the IG was served, he had failed to attend court or send a representative to explain in detail any difficulty experienced or the reasons the TSC secretary is still a free man two weeks after the order was issued.

Earlier, lawyer Dominic Kimatta, representing Mr Simon Kamau and other retired teachers, expressed deep regret at the IG’s failure to arrest Mr Lengoiboni even after being served with the court order on February 26.

He said that failure to respect court orders amounted to a manifestation of impunity by government officers keen to deny the teachers their hard-earned money.

REAFFIRM AUTHORITY OF COURTS

He added that courts must without hesitation reaffirm their authority by taking stern action against anyone keen on denying it its rightful place in society as an arbiter.

“Courts spend time during which taxpayers' money is spent so as the wheels of justice can roll but this cannot be realised if orders issued by court are never honoured,” he said.

TSC lawyer Steve Sitima defended his client, saying the agency had done whatever was possible on their part and handed over data to the Treasury so money could be released to retired teachers but that no money had been paid out.

“TSC has always taken this matter seriously and has always attended court. We are currently engaged in serious talks but government issues involve many people and to expect one officer to execute this order is not possible,” he said.

The action arises from last year’s judgement by Justice Anyara Emukule in which the retired teachers won the multimillion-shilling award in pension and salary arrears, payable to them under the 1997 collective bargaining agreement whose implementation was delayed for over a decade, with many retiring before receiving the payments.

The judge ordered the IG to attend court on March 12 to explain why he should not be cited for contempt for failing to carry out a lawful court order.