Court Spells Doom on Raila's Ally

Kisumu County Speaker Onyango Oloo's fate at the county's legislative body has been sealed after a court ruling upheld his impeachment by MCAs in the county.

The Daily Nation was first to report on Tuesday, December 10, that the speaker had been ordered to stay out of office as per the decision made by the MCAs in September 2019.

Oloo has also been ordered to surrender his official county vehicle with immediate effect.

Former Kisumu County speaker Onyango Oloo.

Oloo had been thrown off the top seat in the county assembly in September 2019, after he was linked with the Ksh4.1 billion Lake Basin Mall scandal during his stint as chairperson of the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA).

This scandal led to his arrest and subsequent arraignment in court, after which his attempts to return to the assembly on September 18, 2019, were marred with chaos and protests.

The MCAs were reported to be fed up with his abrasive leadership style, including the adoption of divide-and-rule tactics to stay at the helm of the assembly, and appointed the acting Speaker Elisha Oraro in his stead.

The embattled speaker moved to present his arguments to the Employment and Labour Court on October 23, seeking the institution to rule in his favor even as defense lawyers urged the court to dismiss the suit.

Reports from The Standard in October 2019 intimated that Oloo was seeking six orders, including one reinstating him as Speaker.

The advocates had claimed that Oloo's rights were violated after the ward representatives failed to give him ample time to respond to the allegations made against him before his dismissal.

He was also fighting for the reinstatement of the benefits, allowances and privileges that he enjoyed while in office.

Embattled Kisumu Speaker Onyango Oloo moved to court in October 2019, with a view to overturning his impeachment by the Kisumu County MCAs.
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