Garissa Governor summoned again

A judge has ordered Garissa Governor Ali Korane to appear in court later this month over the failure to pay Sh61 million in wrongful dismissal compensation to three former county officials.

Judge Maureen Onyango of the Employment and Labour Relations Court summoned Mr Korane to appear before her on September 28 for failing to pay three county executives who were fired in 2015.

The trio, Idris Muktar, Muktar Bulale, and Salah Farah were sacked in May 2015 over accusations of traveling outside the country without authorization from the governor’s office.

They were further accused of regularly absenting themselves from office, hampering service delivery.

Mr Bulale was further accused of failing to implement key policy decisions relating to his department, and failure to supervise the administration and service delivery of the water department and other related agencies of the county.

But in 2018 Employment and Labour relations Judge Hellen Wasilwa ruled that their dismissal was illegal.

The Judge noted that on the alleged absenteeism, the CECs had been permitted by the Governor to travel out of the country as the trips were official and for the benefit of the county government.

The judge awarded the former CECs Sh4 million each but the amount was later increased by consent to Sh15.7 million each.

But even after winning the case, the county government has failed to honour the award and pay the three the money despite making promises through correspondences filed in court.

Mr Korane will be required to appear together with the county finance executive over the failure to settle the amount after the county government lost a bid to overturn the decision before the Court of Appeal.

Last year, Court of Appeal judges Wanjiru Karanja, Hannah Okwengu and Fatuma Sichale dismissed the appeal by the county government challenging the monies awarded to the three.

“We propose that the county does pay the full decretal sum plus costs and interest, being Ksh.61,072,011.56 in one trance since the government’s financial year is coming to ane end of 30th June 2021,” reads part of a letter sent by his lawyer Charles Kanjama in May. 

The county government through Issa Oyow, the CEC Finance, acknowledged the letter and asked to be given time to come up with a payment plan “given the financial constraints that the County government of Garissa is facing”. Mr Oyow promised to settle the amount all at once.