AG files preliminary objection in ouster case of Isiolo County speaker
The Attorney General is asking the court to strike out the petition entirely, terming it "premature, political, and legally defective."
The Attorney General has filed a preliminary objection in response to a petition that seeks the removal of elected Isiolo County Assembly Speaker Abdullahi Jaldesa Banticha from office.
Abdullahi moved to court seeking protection after Isiolo County Assembly Clerk Salad Guracha revoked his appointment through a gazette notice published on Monday.
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"It is notified for the general information of the public that the appointment of Abdullahi Jaldesa Banticha as the Speaker of the County Assembly of Isiolo and Chairman of the Isiolo County Assembly Service Board is revoked with effect from July 14, 2025," the notice reads.
In his petition, the Speaker named the Government Press and the State Law Office as respondents.
In the preliminary objection, the AG argues that the court lacks jurisdiction to hear the matter.
The objection states that there is no employer-employee relationship between the petitioner and the respondents, making the petition outside the mandate of the Labour Court as defined under Article 162(2)(a) and Section 12 of the Employment and Labour Relations Court Act.
The AG further contends that the Speaker of a County Assembly is a state officer elected by the Assembly, not an employee, and thus the court cannot entertain the petition under employment law.
The AG claims that Abdullahi failed to disclose vital information to the court, specifically, that he had already been officially removed as Speaker through a Gazette Notice dated 11th July 2025, in line with the County Governments Act and the Isiolo County Assembly Standing Orders.
"The petitioner's continued reference to himself as Speaker is misleading," the AG noted, asserting that the orders issued by the court on July 15, 2025, were based on withheld facts and should therefore be discharged.
The Attorney General is asking the court to strike out the petition entirely, terming it "premature, political, and legally defective."
On Tuesday, Justice Hellen Wasilwa of the Employment and Labour Relations Court sitting in Milimani issued conservatory orders temporarily halting the removal of the recently gazetted Speaker.
The judge barred any attempts to degazette or remove Abdullahi from office pending the hearing and determination of a petition he filed against the Government Press.
"In the interim, no action shall be taken removing or degazetting the applicant as the Speaker of the Respondent," ruled Justice Wasilwa, maintaining that the status quo be preserved until the matter is fully heard.
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