Kenyans will now be free to seize county assets if the regional governments fail to pay court-ordered fees, a judge has ruled.
Justice Nzioki wa Makau, on Wednesday, ruled that failure to budget for court-ordered payments is not a valid excuse to delay such settlements by counties, even as she warned that court orders are not superseded by budgetary bureaucracy.
The ruling stems from a case filed by Evans Otieno Oloo to compel the Kisumu County government to pay him Ksh497,749, being taxed legal costs from a previous petition, which had ended in a consent judgment dated November 3, 2022.
The consent judgement or an out-of-court settlement compelled the county and the Chief Finance Officer to pay. However, Oloo, after waiting to receive the money without success, went back to court, seeking to have the county compelled to pay him.
The county argued the amount wasn't budgeted for, and funds would only be available after a supplementary budget approval in May 2025.
But the judge ruled this was not a sufficient excuse and called the delay a deliberate refusal to obey a lawful court order.
“The consent which condemned the 2nd Respondent (Kisumu County) to pay costs of the suit has not been vitiated and holds. Since the consent, there has been no provision for payment of the debt due, and that, in the mind of the court, is a clear and demonstrable deliberate refusal to pay,” ruled Justice Nzioki.
In his ruling, the judge ordered Kisumu county to pay Ksh497,749 (the original amount) and Ksh20,000 (for court costs of this new case) for a total of Ksh517,749 to be paid within 21 days.
“The payment must be made within 21 days of this decision, failing which the applicant is at liberty to execute by attaching the assets of any of the said respondents as may be sufficient to meet the sum of Ksh517,749 and any incidental costs attendant to the execution,” the judge said.
Additionally, Justice Nzioki mandated that the county and the chief financial officer "jointly and severally pay the sum". Legal experts believe this could compel county governments that frequently postpone or disregard court orders to now face asset seizures or personal liability for non-compliance.
This implies that county officials will face increased pressure to follow court orders or face the possibility of having their personal assets or even their offices seized to satisfy debts.
