•Guyo petitioned the High Court over plan by the assembly’s Powers and Privileges Committee to punish him for allegedly skipping house sittings.
•The petition comes in the wake of the intense leadership wrangles in the country’s largest assembly.
Image: FILE
Wrangles in the Nairobi county assembly have once again landed in the corridors of justice after Matopeni/Spring Valley MCA Abdi Guyo sued speaker Beatrice Elachi and the assembly.
Guyo petitioned the High Court over a plan by the assembly’s Powers and Privileges Committee to 'punish' him for allegedly skipping House sittings.
The committee had written to Guyo on Saturday summoning him to appear before to explain his alleged prolonged no show in the plenary sittings.
But the ward representative rushed to court on Monday seeking orders to stop the planned probe on his conduct.
He filed the petitioned before High Court Judge Weldon Korir, who certified the application as urgent and issued temporary orders barring the committee from investigating him.
In the application, Guyo sued Elachi, the assembly, the committee and the clerk of the assembly.
“That an interim order be and is hereby issued barring the 3rd respondent (the committee) from holding any sitting to investigate the conduct of the petitioner for conduct which constitutes breach of privilege as set out in the letter from the 3rd respondent dated June, 5 2020 pending hearing of this application inter partes,” reads the order issued on Monday.
The judge also issued interim orders barring the assembly from adopting the report of the committee touching on the petitioner pending hearing of the application inter partes.
Justice Korir further issued a temporary order staying the implementation of the committee to its investigations against the petitioner pending inter partes hearing of the application.
The petition comes in the wake of the intense leadership wrangles in the country’s largest assembly.
In March, nominated MCA Mary Arivitsa had petitioned the Powers and Privilege committee to look into Guyo’s plenary sitting attendance.
She had said the ward legislator had missed more than eight consecutive sittings and wanted the Powers and Privileges Committee to inquire into the matter. Just last Thursday, changes were made to the committee.
In the changes, MCAs Naftali Mathenge, AbdiKadir Mohammed, Maurice Ochieng, Maurice Gari, Millicent Jagero, Osman Khalif, Charles Thuo, Mbugua Kabiru, Daniel Ekama, Jeremiah Themendu and David Ayoi were appointed to sit in the select Powers and Privileges committees.
They replaced MCAs Chege Mwaura, Peter Wahinya, Abdi Guyo, Jacinta Wanjiru, Silvia Museiya, Geoffrey Majiwa, Evans Otiso, Jackline Achieng, Margaret Wanjiru and Carolyn Andisi.
Elachi and Guyo have been engrossed in a bitter fight after the speaker failed to confirm the MCA as the Majority Leader despite receiving a letter from Jubilee party secretary general Raphael Tuju.
She said her office was reviewing the letter dated May 28, sent to her by Tuju communicating the changes.
On Monday, the party summoned all the 66 Jubilee MCAs to a meeting on Wednesday in a bid to solve the wrangles that have stalled the operations of the assembly.
In a letter dated June 8, Tuju noted that various pertinent issues of concern to the Jubilee membership at the Assembly will be discussed.
“This is to request you to attend a consultative meeting at the Jubilee Party Headquarters at 11:00 a.m. Please prioritise this meeting and be punctual,” read the letter.
All MCAs - 46 elected and 20 nominated - will be expected to attend the meeting at the Jubilee Headquarters along the Pangani Interchange. The letter was copied to Jubilee’s party chairman Nelson Dzuya.