Council of Governors (CoG) chairman, the Kakamega County Governor Wycliffe Oparanya is celebrating after Court of Appeal dealt a major blow to activist Okiyah Omtatah.
Taking to his official twitter account on Friday May 22, Oparanya said that the defenders of devolution had all reasons to smile following a win after Court of Appeal dismissed a case filed by activist Okiya Omutata seeking to have Health services transferred from counties back to the National Government.
Oparanya said that Omtatah’s move to have the health services moved from counties, back to the National government could have undermined devolution.
“Today defenders of Devolution got a win after Court of Appeal dismissed a case filed by activist Okiya Omutata seeking to have Health services transferred from counties back to the National Government this could have undermined devolution,” he tweeted.
The High Court in 2013 dismissed as a waste of judicial time an attempt to halt the transfer of health facilities to the jurisdiction of county governments.
Justice Mumbi Ngugi declined to grant temporary orders stopping the transfer of Level 2 to Level 5 health facilities to the county level and termed it an effort to re-introduce through the back door an earlier petition that had been dismissed by the High Court.
Two petitioners, Okiya Omtatah and Nyakina Wycliffe Gisebe had sued the Transition Authority (TA) and the Attorney General on grounds that they failed to correctly interpret the issues of health referral facilities.
They had listed 47 health facilities in various counties, which they claimed are legally national referral facilities and which should not be transferred to the counties.
