Agriculture Cabinet secretary Willy Bett and his Principal secretary Richard Lesiyampe face 30 days in jail if they fail to pay a contempt-of-court fine of Sh500,000 within seven days.
High Court judge George Odunga issued the ruling after the two disobeyed a court order prohibiting the seizing of assets belonging to Agricultural Sectoral Coordination Unit (ASCU). Bett and Lesiyampe told the court they were unaware of the orders following the change of guard in the ministry.
However, Justice Odunga said it was the duty of current office holders to appraise themselves on legal status of matters in the ministry before taking any steps.
“Going by the current trends in which court orders are treated with contempt by some members of the executive, it seems the sentiments have never been taken seriously by that arm of the government,” he ruled.
Bett was ordered to comply with the initial orders within three days or he would be personally liable to pay a fine of Sh20,000 for each day the default continues after the lapse of the three days.
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