Matopeni MCA Abdi Guyo got temporary relief after the court stopped the Nairobi City County Select Committee of Powers and Privileges (NCCSCPP) from investigating his conduct.
Justice Weldon Korir allowed an application by Guyo, who was seeking the orders in order to stop the committee from investigating him.
“An interim order be and hereby issued barring the Nairobi City County Select Committee of powers and privileges from holding any sitting to investigate the conduct of Abdi Guyo for conduct which constitute breach of privilege as set out in a letter from them,” the order reads in part.
On Monday, Judge Korir further barred the Nairobi Assembly from adopting the Report of the Nairobi City Assembly Select Committee on Powers and Privileges touching on Guyo, pending hearing of the case.
In the case, Guyo has sued the Speaker, the County Assembly, the Privileges Committee and the Clerk of the Assembly.
The Matopeni ward MCA says he is apprehensive that given the previous "unlawful and illegal actions" of the said Committee, there is a real likelihood that they will violate his Constitutional Rights.
Through lawyer Eric Theuri, Guyo said on Friday last week, he received an invitation to attend a virtual meeting of the Nairobi City County Assembly Select Committee on Powers and Privileges investigating his conduct for breach of privilege on Tuesday this week.
“The letter of invitation followed a meeting of the Committee of Powers and Privileges that had been held on the same day 5th June, 2020 to consider the issue following an alleged report made to the Speaker by a member of the Assembly during a sitting of the Assembly held on the 16th March, 2020,” reads court documents
Guyo avers that the Committee was directed by Speaker Beatrice Elachi on March 16 and they sat on Friday where they considered reports from ICT Department and resolved to invite him for the virtual meeting investigating his conduct.
He further claims that on June 2, Elachi announced to the House that she had received a letter from the Jubilee Party designating him as the Leader of Majority but she declined to accept the changes.
“The fact that the petitioner is being investigated by the Committee on Powers and Privileges for conduct that does not constitute breach of privilege exposes the Petitioner to the risk of violation of his rights to Fair Administrative Action and to have a free and fair trial,” Guyo says.
Guyo says Section 15 (5) of the County Assembly Powers & Privileges Act, 2017 requires the Committee to investigate any complaint of conduct which constitutes breach of privilege within 14 days of the date of receipt of the complaint.
“That the complaint was allegedly made on the 16th March, 2020 and therefore the 14 days lapsed on the 30th March, 2020. The sitting of the Committee on Powers and Privileges on 5th June, 2020 was Sixty Six days after the lapse of the statutorily timeline hence any action is time barred and clearly illegal,” he argued.
