This archive report was first published on 10 December 2019.
On December 10, 2019, the Employment and Labour Relations Court delivered a significant ruling in the ongoing saga surrounding Kisumu County Speaker Onyango Oloo's impeachment. The court upheld the decision made by the Kisumu County Assembly on September 19, 2019, which led to Oloo's ouster.
According to the court's ruling, Justice Nduma Nderi found in favour of the Kisumu County Assembly's decision, which was made by the majority. This decision was reached after a series of court battles. Oloo was impeached due to allegations of unprocedurally suspending three members of the county assembly and his alleged involvement in the Lake Basin Mall scandal.
On September 18, 2019, the Anti-Riot Police had to use teargas canisters to disperse a section of MCAs who had ganged up with some members of the public to block Oloo from entering his office. Oloo had stated that he would not seek intervention from the courts, claiming that no court order barred him from accessing his office as a substantive speaker.
However, Oloo's defence team argued that he made an attempt to issue a response but was barred from accessing the County Assembly by hooligans. They also claimed that the MCAs impeached him irregularly. In contrast, the acting Speaker Elisha Oraro filed an affidavit stating that Oloo's impeachment was lawful, as the decision was made by the House Business Committee before it was communicated to the MCAs for debate.
