This archive report was first published on 25 September 2019.
On September 25, 2019, a High Court in Kenya committed former Youth Enterprise and Development Fund boss Evans Gor Semelang'o to civil jail for 30 days after he failed to pay a debt of Sh3.6 million.
The debt was owed to lawyer George Miyare of Atonga Miyare & Associates Advocates, who had represented Semelang'o in a case.
According to court documents, Semelang'o had filed an application in March seeking to quash the warrant of arrest, but the law firm argued that it was an attempt to delay payment without valid reasons.
Justice Roselyn Aburili, who heard the application in 2017, said: “There is absolutely no ground upon which the advocate should not be given his just dues, having followed due process.”
Immediately the decree was made in 2016, Semelang'o filed an application before the High Court seeking to overturn the decision. However, the court ultimately directed that he be escorted to Industrial Area Prison where he is to spend one month unless he pays the amount plus interest.
