Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho is in a big trouble.
The county chief on Tuesday April 28 received a blow after the Mombasa High Court dismissed his application asking to be spared a jail sentence for demolishing a multi-million property in Changamwe.
In a case that was heard via a video link, Justice Sila Munyao said records in court proved the governor was aware of the injunctive court orders barring the demolition of property belonging to Mombasa tycoon Ashok Doshi.
Munyao ruled Joho was well represented by his lawyers and had been served with a show cause notice in a letter dated Friday, May 17, 2019.
Joho had filed an application seeking to have Justice Munyao suspend his order dated Wednesday, February 12, 2020, sentencing him to six months in jail after he found him guilty of contempt of court.
Last month, Munyao suspended Joho’s sentencing to allow him submit the application stopping his sentencing.
The judge had found Joho guilty of disobeying Lady Justice Ann Omollo’s orders dated Tuesday, March 6, 2019, stopping the county government of Mombasa from interfering with the said suit through a consent written by him and county government lawyers.
The governor was scheduled to appear before court to mitigate before his sentencing.
Through his lawyer Ali Mohamed, governor Joho argued the application dated Friday, May 17, 2019 was never personally served upon him, and as such, he was a stranger to the proceedings.
Joho said he only got to know he had been held in contempt of court through the mainstream and social media.
He contended he had never disobeyed a court order, and that as a matter of principle, he fully respects the sanctity of the rule of law and all court orders.
Doshi’s lawyer Willis Oluga however, said personal service was not mandatory in such an application and the need for personal service was raised and dismissed in an earlier ruling by Justice Munyao on Wednesday, February 12.
Oluga said one Gordon Odhiambo personally served the ODM deputy party leader with the application dated Friday, May 17,2019.
Munyao dismissed the argument the application dated Friday, May 17, 2019 was defective as it failed to follow the procedure laid down in the judicature act.
In his ruling, the Judge said the acts of disobedience were attributed to the governor as the chief executive of the county.
The judge said Joho actively participated in the application through the county attorney.