Court Dismisses Petition Seeking Removal of Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo

Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo has been handed a major legal victory after a three-judge bench dismissed a petition seeking his removal from office over alleged party hopping.

The petition, filed in June 2023, accused Governor Guyo and his deputy, John Lowasa, of defecting from the Jubilee Party to the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), an action the petitioners argued automatically disqualified them from holding office.

In its ruling delivered on Friday, the court held that while party hopping is unlawful under Kenyan law, there was no evidence to demonstrate that the governor or his deputy had resigned from or formally defected from the Jubilee Party.

The petitioners had urged the court to declare the two leaders to have vacated their offices, arguing that their alleged “automatic resignation” had created a leadership vacuum that should be resolved through a by-election. They also sought conservatory orders to bar the governor and his deputy from performing their duties while the case was pending.

However, the judges found the claims unsubstantiated and dismissed the petition in its entirety.

Reacting to the ruling, Governor Guyo welcomed the decision, describing the allegations as baseless and politically motivated.

“These accusations were ill-intended and meant to mislead the public,” Guyo said while addressing residents who gathered to hear his response. “The same people who were talking about impeachment are the ones behind these claims, which have now been thrown out by the court.”

He added that the judgment affirmed his long-held position that neither he nor his deputy had defected from their party.

“The court established that there was absolutely no evidence that we ever resigned or defected from the Jubilee Party,” he said.

The dismissal of the petition brings to an end a two-year legal battle that had cast uncertainty over the leadership of Isiolo County, allowing Governor Guyo and his deputy to continue in office.