The High Court in Nyamira has ordered the county government to pay Sh24.6 million to five former employees whose contracts were unlawfully terminated.
Justice Wilfrida Okwany directed the county to pay the decretal sum of Sh24,592,372 to Tonny Bironga, Evelyne Mogere, Johnson Nyandika, Rebecca Okari, Nicodemus Nyamweya, and Patrick Mamboleo within a reasonable timeline.
The court also temporarily halted the arrest and six-month imprisonment of County Executive Committee Member for Finance, Jones Omwenga, Chief Officer Asenath Maobe, and County Secretary Jack Magara. The three had been facing warrants of arrest issued on 3 January 2025 for failing to comply with an earlier order to pay the amount, as directed by the court on 4 July 2024.
Justice Okwany extended the payment timelines following a request from county officials but declined to set aside the warrants entirely, instructing the officers to submit a “reasonable proposal” for settlement.
Bironga, the lead claimant, had moved the court seeking a mandamus order to compel payment, alongside Sh810,925 in costs, and asked for the officers to be cited for contempt. A consent agreement reached on 31 October 2024 had committed the county to pay Sh39.9 million in two instalments across two financial years, but the first instalment due in December 2024 or March 2025 was not honoured.
Instead, county officers filed an application seeking a stay of execution and an extension of time to settle the sum.
Justice Okwany noted that the dispute had originally been determined by the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Kericho and that her court’s involvement was limited to enforcing compliance with the consent orders.
She ruled that reopening the question of jurisdiction was unnecessary, stating the matter had been resolved and now centred solely on default in payment.
