Blow to Guyo as Court Stops Sh7.3bn Isiolo Budget Over Corruption Loopholes

Isiolo Governor Abdi Guyo has suffered a major political and administrative setback after the High Court halted the county’s Sh7.3 billion budget, ruling that the entire process was riddled with constitutional breaches that opened the door to corruption, backroom deals and financial abuse.

Kenya Insights has learned that the judgment has triggered fresh jitters within county offices and exposed widening rifts between senior officials as pressure mounts over accountability failures.

The budget, passed in July, had been touted by Governor Guyo’s administration as the engine that would drive flagship development projects and stabilise county services.

But in a scathing judgment, the court found that the process used to push it through was so fundamentally flawed that it could not stand, citing a chain of irregularities including rushed public participation, questionable legislative records and suspiciously missing documentation.

The details point to a system where oversight was deliberately weakened, a concern that critics say has been a persistent feature of Isiolo’s governance.  

The petition that triggered the collapse of the budget was filed by Speaker Mohamed Roba Koto alongside nine MCAs, who accused Governor Guyo’s administration of bulldozing the process to avoid scrutiny.

They argued that the manner in which the public was “consulted” suggested a scheme designed to minimise citizen input and avoid uncomfortable questions about allocations, especially in recurrent expenditure and pending bills.

The court agreed, revealing that the county allocated only three days for public participation across ten vast wards and relied solely on newspaper notices despite Isiolo’s low literacy levels.

Researchers and governance experts say such tactics are common when county executives want to push through budgets with minimal interrogation of line items, some of which often hide inflated procurement or politically driven projects.  

The judge noted that the two-day window allegedly used to collect and analyse residents’ views was “impossibly short”, adding that the county’s choice to ignore radio broadcasts effectively shut out large sections of the population.

In Isiolo, radio remains the primary source of information for thousands of pastoralist households.

The court said the approach reduced public participation to a token gesture and undermined constitutional safeguards designed to prevent mismanagement of public funds.

The ruling also faulted the county for failing to produce certified Hansard records, presenting instead an uncertified document that raised suspicions about whether proper debates ever took place.

Minutes from critical committees and attendance lists were missing entirely, leaving the court with no evidence that the budget was honestly scrutinised.  

Behind the legal battle is a deep political feud that has brewed for months between Governor Guyo and Speaker Roba.

County insiders say the budget process became the latest battleground, with MCAs accusing the executive of sidelining them and weaponising state resources to punish dissenting wards.

However, the court dismissed claims by Deputy Speaker David Lemnantile that the case was politically driven, stating that the violations were so blatant that politics could not excuse them.

Governance analysts say the ruling sends a powerful message to counties where executives often treat assemblies as rubber stamps and manipulate processes to avoid accountability.  

The impact of the ruling is enormous.

Although the court suspended the nullification for three months to prevent collapse of county operations, the directive requires the entire budget process to be restarted from zero.

That means fresh public participation, fresh committee scrutiny and new documentation at every step.

The Governor must also now navigate hostile MCAs who feel emboldened by the judgment and are expected to demand changes to several allocations. In a county where political alliances shift quickly and ethnic balancing is delicate, the process is expected to reopen old tensions.

Residents interviewed after the ruling said they hoped the court’s intervention would lead to greater transparency.

Civil society groups in Isiolo and neighbouring counties have long warned that perfunctory public participation opens the door to inflated projects and questionable procurement, often benefiting well-connected contractors.

With the budget now under fresh scrutiny, those concerns are likely to resurface, especially in roads, water and livestock projects where past audits have flagged irregularities.

Governor Guyo’s administration has not yet issued a detailed response but allies argue the ruling was “harsh but manageable”.

Privately, however, officials admit the verdict is a blow to Guyo’s push to consolidate control over the county’s fiscal agenda. With three months ticking, Isiolo faces the politically charged task of rebuilding a budget that can withstand both public scrutiny and legal challenge.

If the county fails to comply, the High Court has hinted at harsher consequences, a warning that places the spotlight firmly on Governor Guyo as he fights to steady an administration now under siege.