Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho on Wednesday suffered a major setback after his Finance CEC Maryam Abdillahi was sentenced to six months in jail.
Justice John Mativo ordered Police to arrest and place Ms Abdillahi in civil jail after she failed to honor several court orders made by the Mombasa High Courts.
“You are further ordered to return this warrant with an endorsement, certifying the date and the manner in which it has been executed or reasons as to why it has not been executed,” Justice Mativo’s ruling read in part.
In November, High Court judge David Majanja issued a summon requiring the Mombasa Finance CEC to personally appear before the court where the county has been sued for failure to honor a contract.
She had not appeared by Wednesday when the punitive ruling was made.
The civil case where she was asked to appear involved a contract between Associated Automobiles Distributors Limited and the defunct Municipal Council of Mombasa which later became the County Government of Mombasa in 2013.
The automobile company accused the Municipal Council of failing to pay for five vehicles sold to them between 1998 and 1999.
Abdillahi joins a long list of public officials who have been sentenced to jail over contempt of court, even though such orders have rarely been implemented.
In 2016, Justice George Odunga handed Interior PS Karanja Kibicho a three-month jail term over contempt of court charges.
The warrant of arrest against him was never implemented and Kibicho continues to perform a supervisory role on the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet. 1/1 Mombasa Finance CEC Maryam Abdillahi (right) sentenced to 6 months in jail over contempt of court