The Labour court has extended stay orders that suspended the impeachment of Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko.
The court also dismissed an application challenging an order to stop his impeachment on Friday.
“In conclusion the primary objection dated and filed on 4.03.2020 for the 2nd respondent is hereby dismissed,” read the court orders.
The 2nd respondent was former County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi.
Justice Byram Ongaya extended the interim orders that had been issued on March 2, 2020 to a further date when the case will be mentioned.
He also ordered Elachi to pay the petitioner’s costs of the preliminary objection.
In February, Minority Whip Peter Imwatok tabled a notice to impeach Sonko and accused the governor of a litany of misdeeds, ranging from abuse of office to corruption and violation of the Constitution, which were used as grounds for his removal from office.
In March 2,2020, the Labour and Employment court temporarily stopped the impeachment of Sonko until due process was followed.
The court directed that the county assembly adheres to standing orders 67 and 72.
Ongaya suspended the impeachment motion to a later date after Sonko through his lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui argued that the law was violated.
During the hearing, Kinyanjui said the case is of utmost urgency as the Nairobi city county assembly was poised to debate a motion by the clerk seeking his impeachment the following day.
But the Nairobi County assembly objected to the application, saying that the Labour Court where the matter has been filed, should not be used by Sonko to hold a function that is constitutionally mandated at ransom.
Elachi had disagreed with the court, saying they had dispensed with the matter of who is the clerk with the board appointing Monica Muthami as acting clerk in place of Jacob Ngwele.
She had pointed out that an ad hoc committee formed by the assembly last November to look into the issues surrounding the appointment of Ngwele as the clerk established that he was irregularly appointed.
“The report was made public and no person, including Ngwele himself, has ever challenged the report,” Elachi stated at the time.
