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Court frees Isiolo parallel speaker, ex-MP over county assembly vandalism
From left: Isiolo parallel speaker Abdullahi Banticha, Hassan Bonaya, Kotobo Mohamed and former MP Abdi Koropu when they appeared before Meru magistrate Lilian Wangari. The DCI had sought to have them detained for seven days but they were released on Sh50,000 bail.
A Meru court on Thursday rejected a bid by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to detain four suspects accused of vandalising the Isiolo County Assembly.
Isiolo’s parallel Speaker Abdullahi Banticha, his driver Hassan Bonaya and bodyguard Kotobo Mohamed, alongside former MP Abdi Koropu Tepu, were freed on a Sh50,000 cash bail or Sh100,000 bond each.
Magistrate Lilian Wangari ruled that police had not provided sufficient grounds to hold them for seven days as requested.
The case will be mentioned on September 4, 2025.
The four are accused of leading Wednesday’s ransacking of the assembly, where property worth Sh1.8 million — including chairs, tables, hansard equipment and electronic appliances — was destroyed. Police said they arrived in an unmarked vehicle and oversaw the destruction.
Investigators argued the suspects should be detained to allow further investigations and prevent interference with 10 witnesses. More suspects are said to be at large.
But defence lawyer Jacob Ngwele dismissed the application as defective noting it lacked a holding charge sheet and failed to indicate a complainant.
He also accused police of violating the Powers and Privileges Act by arresting Mr Banticha, who as Speaker, he said, should have authorised investigations within the Assembly.
The ruling comes amid deepening political divisions in Isiolo, where rival assemblies led by Mr Banticha and Speaker Mohamed Roba continue to battle for legitimacy.
The feud has escalated in recent months with parallel sittings, competing budgets and contested leadership changes.
Speaking after his release, Mr Banticha, said the charges were politically motivated and insisted sittings held in Oldonyiro town were duly gazetted.
Meanwhile, Isiolo County Commissioner David Kiprop said detectives were pursuing more suspects linked to the vandalism and recent arson attacks on county offices. He pledged dialogue to ease political tensions, warning that law and order must prevail.
Following the attack, County Secretary Mr Dadhe Boru said the county government had lost all manual human resource records which were destroyed in the fire.
"We are yet to ascertain the cost of the fire damage but preliminary assessment shows that only the online payroll has survived. This is the third attack on my office in the last two months," Mr Boru said.
The county commissioner who was deployed to Isiolo recently said plans were underway to call a dialogue meeting to quell rising political tensions.
"We cannot allow the county to go on like this for too long. Law and order must prevail," Mr Kiprop said, and called on residents to remain calm as authorities deal with the situation.
