|
Mau saga clerk jailed for
contempt
Standard
Wednesday December 14, 2005
By Judy Ogutu
 |
A court bailiff leads
former Narok County Council Clerk, Stanislas Ondimu (left),
to the cells at the Nairobi High Court on Wednesday after
he was jailed for six months for contempt of court.
Pic by Boniface Okendo
|
Former Narok County
Council Clerk, Mr Stanislas Ondimu, was jailed on Wednesday, just
a day after a Nairobi court ordered his arrest.
Justice Jacton Boma
Ojwang’ jailed him for six months for contempt of court. Ojwang’
said Ondimu and the council had disobeyed an order restraining
them from evicting farmers from Mau Forest.
The order was
issued by Justice Philip Ransely and it also restrained the Narok
District Commissioner and Officer Commanding Police Division from
harassing, intimidating, demolishing and burning the property
pending hearing and determination of the suit.
"I commit
Ondimu to prison for six months, which he shall serve in totality
as long as he does not purge the contempt. Can I have court
bailiffs take him to jail?
I must send out the
clearest message that the authority of the court must be respected.
No person is allowed to violate the legal rights of anyone,"
he said.
On behalf of
Kalyasoi Farmers Co-operative Society, Samwel Langat, Jonathan
Bore, Nicholas Kimeto, Francis Maritim, Stanley Kirinyet and
Joseph Kilele had sued the council following the evictions in May.
When the evictions
continued, the group went back to court, accusing the defendants
of disobeying a court order.
Before a warrant of
arrest was issued, the clerk failed to appear in court three
consecutive times. His lawyer informed the court that Ondimu was
unwell and had been admitted to hospital.
Ondimu said he had
nothing personal against the plaintiffs, adding that the evictions
were not done under his orders.
"The
impression created is that I personally handled the eviction
order, which is misleading. What happened could have happened
whether Ondimu was there or not," the clerk said.
The official, who
has since moved to Makueni County Council, said he had warned his
officers against "getting involved in the eviction process."
He defended the use
of Narok County Council vehicles during the eviction, saying they
were used to check illegal logging and charcoal burning in the
forest.
The judge, however,
termed the testimony evasive.
"He attributes
blame to unnamed ‘others’. He says violations of orders would
still have taken place even if he was not the county clerk,"
he said.
The court, he ruled,
was a public body with a constitutional mandate to resolve
disputes. He said that the violations took place when Ondimu was
in charge of the council.
"He has not
purged his contempt, all his outflows remain in place," he
said.
http://www.eastandard.net/print/news.php?articleid=33660
|
