The impeachment of Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo has taken another twist after the court reinstated a clerk suspended for allegedly refusing to support a censure motion against the county boss.
This comes after Justice Onesmus Makau of the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nyeri overturned the decision by Isiolo County Assembly Speaker Mohammed Koto and the Assembly Service Board to suspend Clerk Salad Boru Guracha.
Judge Makau issued a temporary order halting the suspension, pending the determination of a petition filed by Guracha.
“An order be and is hereby granted, temporarily suspending the respondent’s decision to place the applicant on compulsory leave,” ruled Justice Makau on Tuesday.
Mr Guracha was suspended on June 16, 2025, over allegations of financial impropriety, absenteeism, failure to submit monthly requisitions for April and May to the Controller of Budget, and poor coordination of management meetings.
However, in his petition, he challenged the legality of the move, accusing Speaker Koto and the Board—chaired by the Speaker—of acting unlawfully and maliciously.
“I have already found that the Board, which has the legal mandate to discipline the Clerk, has not sat to initiate a disciplinary process against him,” the judge said, indicating procedural flaws in the suspension.
The clerk claimed his suspension was part of a wider political scheme, alleging that he was targeted for refusing to support an irregular plan to impeach the Isiolo Governor.
“The first respondent is part of a larger scheme to impeach the Governor of Isiolo County, and the petitioner was expected to act contrary to his statutory duties and facilitate the unlawful process,” court documents state.
He further argued that the actions violated his rights to fair labour practices under Article 41 of the Constitution.
The court also issued orders restraining the Speaker and the Board from denying Guracha access to his office or interfering with the execution of his duties as Clerk.
“An order be and is hereby granted, restraining the Respondents… from ejecting, blocking, denying access into the office and/or otherwise impeding the Petitioner/Applicant from discharging the functions of the Office of Clerk-Isiolo County, pending the hearing and determination of the petition,” the court ruled.
In their response, the Speaker and the Board defended the suspension, citing previous warning letters issued to Guracha in 2022 and March 2025, and arguing that his conduct had warranted disciplinary action.
“They aver that the petitioner is using the court process to shield himself from the disciplinary process since the disciplinary process has just started and no decision has been made to terminate his employment. They aver that evidence of any threat of replacing the petitioner has been adduced,” the judge said.
Justice Makau, however, held that the petitioner had an arguable case that could be rendered futile without the court’s intervention and found that public interest favoured the issuance of conservatory orders.
After the announcement of the impeachment of Governor Guyo last week, Mr Guracha differed with the speaker, saying that no sitting to remove the governor had been convened or facilitated by his office.
According to the clerk, there were active court orders prohibiting the County Assembly from proceeding with impeachment actions against the Governor.
He further clarified that his office had not issued any notices or order papers nor deployed officers to facilitate any sitting or related proceedings—formal or informal—on the matter.
“We categorically deny and clarify misleading reports circulating in the media and on social platforms claiming that the Assembly convened a sitting today, Thursday, to advance impeachment proceedings against the Governor of Isiolo County or to conduct any such related business,” Mr Guracha said.
Reaffirming his position, he said he remains the substantive clerk of the County Assembly following a court ruling that halted his suspension by the Assembly Speaker.
“Anyone purporting to act as clerk has no legal mandate to facilitate any such sitting or act on behalf of this Office,” he stated.
