NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 18 — Ahmed Ali Muktar, the former Wajir Deputy Governor who took over the Office of the Governor following the impeachment of Governor Mohamed Abdi, has vowed to challenge the High Court ruling which reinstated Abdi to the top seat on Wednesday.
According to the court ruling deliverer by a 3-judeg bench, Abdi can only access office, 21 days after the verdict, giving room for to Mukhtar to appeal the decision made by the Meru High Court.
Following the ruling, the court ordered Mukhtar to resume his original role as Deputy Governor after Abdi successfully challenged his impeachment.
Speaking on Thursday, the reinstated governor urged the National Treasury, Controller of Budget and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to temporarily halt disbursement of funds to the troubled county pending scrutiny of the handover reports and a preliminary audit of various projects.
Abdi was impeached on May 18 2021 over abuse of office and misappropriation of funds. His position was immediately taken up by Mukhtar who was the Deputy Governor at the time.
He said the freeze should not, however, affect salaries to be paid during the period.
“The objective of this request is to preserve public funds and county resources,” Abdi said as he stressed the need for an audit of the county funds since he left office.
The embattled governor said that he will convene his first cabinet meeting on March 11 to coordinate issues and ensure service delivery to Wajir residents.
Abdi urged the Senate to protect devolution and uphold the Constitution to ensure service delivery is not affected in the border county and the country at large.
He lauded the judiciary for determining the case despite challenges and commended the courts for “setting an important threshold of the removal of a governor from the office which is a major win for not only the people of Wajir but all the current and future governors who might face similar political antagonism.”
He added that the landmark ruling issued on Wednesday will go a long way in guiding the county assemblies and Senate on how to properly conduct impeachment proceedings without victimization of governors.
“As confirmed by the judges, my impeachment was not only unlawful but also unconstitutional,” Abdi said.
“Consequently, I remain the governor of Wajir County and will henceforth embark on the process of receiving hand over reports from the respective departments during the transition period,” he stated.
He added that he expects different departmental heads to furnish him with departmental reports during the transition period which he said is important for smooth running of county affairs.
Abdi who blamed politics for his woes extended an olive branch to his Mukhtar to join him in serving the residents.
