The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has ordered the arrest of Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo and seven other individuals.
The ODPP on Friday, September 5, directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to apprehend the governor on charges of kidnapping with intent to cause grievous harm and robbery with violence.
"The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) wishes to inform the public of the impending arrest and arraignment of Isiolo Governor Ibrahim Abdi Hassan alias Guyo and seven other individuals in connection with serious criminal offences," ODPP said in a statement.
According to the ODPP, the Isiolo County boss on June 19, together with the seven accused, raided a hotel in Machakos County where former Isiolo County Chief Officer of Health, Abdirahaman Mohamed, and 15 MCAs who supported the Governor’s impeachment were holding a meeting.
It is alleged that the Governor and his supporters allegedly stormed the venue, forcibly disarmed and attacked Abdirahaman, and later kidnapped him.
According to the charge sheet, Abdirahaman was threatened, blindfolded, beaten, and later abandoned at the Ruai Sewage area.
During the attack, he is said to have lost a licensed Glock pistol with 15 rounds, an iPhone 16, Ksh70,000 in cash, and other personal belongings.
DCI’s investigation found CCTV footage from the hotel, which placed the Governor and seven others at the scene of the crime.
"Based on the presented evidence, the DPP has directed the DCI to apprehend and arraign all the above suspects to face charges of Kidnapping with Intent to Cause Grievous Harm and Robbery with Violence," part of the statement reads.
The arrest order by the ODPP came after a bitter political fight in Isiolo that included an attempt to remove Guyo from office. A notice of motion to impeach the governor was tabled in June 2025 by Sericho MCA Abubakar Godana. The motion listed several allegations, including abuse of office and financial mismanagement.
Some MCAs said they feared for their safety after the motion was tabled and reportedly went into hiding because they felt their lives were at risk.
At the same time, when the motion was debated, 16 of the 18 MCAs were recorded as voting in favour of impeachment, with two members either absent or abstaining, according to official records.
The legal fight over the impeachment moved into the courts. On June 27, the Meru High Court declared the County Assembly’s June 26 proceedings unlawful and void because of existing court orders and other irregularities; the court said the impeachment vote had no legal effect.
The matter then went to the Senate and it considered preliminary objections about whether the County Assembly had properly sat and whether court orders were in place.
The Senate upheld those preliminary issues and terminated the impeachment proceedings against the governor, effectively ending the attempt to remove him from office at that time.
