A court on Tuesday upheld the impeachment of Kisumu Speaker Onyango Oloo and ordered him to immediately release the official county vehicle to acting Speaker Elisha Oraro.
Justice Nduma Nderi said the Employment and Labour Relations Court stood by the ‘Hansard’ report that indicated that 42 members of county assembly voted out Oloo on allegations of corruption.
In an address to journalists shortly after the ruling, Mr Oloo termed the judgment arbitrary and said he will appeal.
He accused Justice Nderi of failing to address the critical issues he raised in his petition, including procedure and the threshold for his impeachment.
MALL SCANDAL
Oloo’s removal comes amid investigations into the Sh2.5 billion Lake Basin Mall scandal, over which he was arrested in September.
Investigations revealed that LBDA did not involve the Ministry of Public Works at any stage of execution of the project.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission took up the investigation on July 28, 2015 following complaints that the cost of construction had been inflated.
According to Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji, directors of Erdemann Properties Ltd gave Oloo, who chaired the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) board before he was elected Speaker, Sh17 million, apartments and shops in bribes.
Oloo earlier insisted he was innocent and said he would be vindicated.
“I hope the investigations are not being done to settle any scores. Let them be devoid of malice and ill-will,” he said in June.