BY SAM ALFAN
Nairobi City County assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi retains her job after Employment and Labour relations court has dismissed a decision by City County Assembly members to impeach her.
In her ruling, Justice Maureen Onyango also restrained the assembly from interfering with the terms of employment of Elachi as the speaker of Nairobi City County Assembly in consequence of the unlawful purported impeachment of September 6,2018.
The County Assembly and Nairobi County Government were furtger prohibited from carrying out a process to remove Elachi without complying with the law, Constitution, due process and according her a hearing without following applicable standing orders.
The judge further declared decision by Nairobi City County Assembly whole house committee purporting to impeach Beatrice Elachi as the county assembly speaker as breach of the constitution and her constitutional rights under Article 27 27(1) , 27(2), 27(3) , 41, 47(1) and 50 of the constitution.
The court also issued injunction prohibiting the county assembly and it members or any person under it behest from entertaining or debating any motion to remove Elachi through process in violation of fair administration and without due process accorded to her in breach of the right to a hearing vested in her.
Justice Onyango ruled that the purported committee of the whole house of the county assembly sitting on the afternoon of September 6,2018 had no powers or jurisdiction to impeach speaker Elachi without due process being accorded.
The judge found that the assembly violated Article 10(2) regarding principles and values of good governance and article 47(1) regarding the the speaker’s right to an efficient, lawful and procedurally fair administrative action in her impeachment.
The judge added that the assembly was aware the speaker could not make it on time for proceedings when they summoned her while she was in Mombasa.
Elachi last year petitioned after she was impeached by the MCAs of Nairobi county assembly.
Through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, Elachi told court that during her impeachment, she was in Malindi for a devolution seminar presided over by Deputy President William Ruto.
