Isiolo Governor to face Senate over impeachment despite court order
Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo.
Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo will face senators in plenary next week as he battles to remain in office following his impeachment by Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) last week even as legal questions loom over the legitimacy of the proceedings.
This development comes despite a court order declaring the impeachment by the county assembly null and void.
The Senate will begin three days of impeachment hearings on July 8, 2025, running through July 10, 2025. The decision to proceed in plenary follows the collapse of an attempt to form an 11-member special committee.
Senate Majority Whip Boni Khalwale, on behalf of the Majority Leader, had moved a motion to establish the special committee to investigate the proposed removal from office of Governor Guyo.
But Minority Leader Stewart Madzayo, who was expected to second the motion, opposed it, paving the way for plenary hearings.
“The motion, having been negative and the route of a special committee, is abandoned. That implies that the Senate will investigate the proposed removal from office of Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo by way of impeachment in plenary,” said Speaker Amason Kingi.
The parties involved in the impeachment were given until June 27 to serve relevant documents and evidence ahead of the hearings.
Contempt of court
The Senate process is unfolding against the backdrop of a ruling by Isiolo High Court Judge Heston Nyaga, who declared the impeachment null and void. Justice Nyaga also found County Assembly Speaker Mohamed Roba in contempt of court and ordered him to appear in person before the court on June 30.
The judge reaffirmed that a conservatory order he issued on June 16, which barred the county assembly from proceeding with the impeachment was still in effect. He warned that any action in defiance of that order would be considered null and void.
“Those orders shall remain in force until they are set aside or reviewed by this court, another court or the Court of Appeal,” ruled Justice Nyaga. “Any acts by the respondents or any other party in defiance of the court order shall be null and void.”
Despite the court directive, 16 out of 18 MCAs convened on Thursday last week and unanimously voted to impeach Governor Guyo. The governor, who was reportedly invited to respond to the allegations, denied receiving any formal communication from the assembly.
The move comes as questions emerged over the legality of the process that led to the governor’s impeachment last week.
The initial notice of motion to impeach the governor was introduced in the assembly on June 10, prompting the county boss to rush to court, where he secured orders barring the assembly from prosecuting the case.
Later, on June 18, the assembly reportedly introduced a fresh motion, ostensibly to beat the court orders.
However, it emerged that the MCAs neither sat in the official assembly chambers nor gazetted an alternative venue when the new motion was introduced.
“If they sat in the chamber in Isiolo, then they should produce video clips showing the withdrawal of the initial motion, introduction of a new one, the debate and the decision to invite the governor to defend himself,” a source familiar with the happenings said.
Governor Guyo had previously filed a petition and secured conservatory orders against the Isiolo County Assembly, the Speaker and the Clerk in relation to the impeachment motion dated June 18.
On Friday last week, his lawyers Eric Theuri and Elias Mutuma filed a contempt of court application against the Speaker and the Clerk.
Court order
Justice Nyaga subsequently ordered the two to appear in court personally on June 30, 2025, to respond to the contempt allegations.
This was after their legal counsel of Dr Ekuru Aukot, Mr Paul Wafula, Mr Alex Mbaya and Mr Boniface Mwereru failed to clarify whether the assembly had complied with the court order.
The earlier conservatory order had explicitly restrained the County Assembly from admitting, processing, debating, or considering the impeachment motion dated June 10, 2025, until Governor Guyo’s legal challenge was fully heard and determined.
Nonetheless, the assembly proceeded with what it described as a “momentous” session, defending its actions as legally justified and grounded in principles of public accountability.
The Assembly’s resolution was formally communicated to Speaker Kingi on June 27, 2025.