Isiolo County Assembly has a new Speaker who will double as the chairperson of the County Assembly Service Board.
This is after the clerk of the assembly Salad Guracha gazetted Abdullahi Jaldesa Banticha as the new speaker. The clerk also circulated a memo at the county informing staff of the new board.
This saw the exit of the controversial speaker Mohamed Roba in ongoing drama in an attempt to impeach Governor Abdi Guyo. Guyo and Roba had been close friends before they fell out.
Roba led a group of Members of County Assembly in a campaign to impeach Guyo in a political drama that has ended in court.
A court has stopped the process and termed it null and void and summoned Robar to explain why he cannot be cited for contempt. But Roba forwarded the impeachment motion to the Senate which is set to debate the matter on July 7 and 8.
On Friday June 27, 2025, the clerk gazzetted Banticha as the new Speaker.
“Abdullahi Jaldesa Banticha has been duly elected as the Speaker of the County Assembly and Chairman to the Isiolo County Assembly Service Board, on the 26th June, 2025,” the notice said in part.
He was later sworn in as the new Speaker
On July 1, in an internal memo, the clerk named Banticha as the chairman of the service board.
“This is to notify all members of the county assembly and relevant stakeholders that individuals listed herein below are the only persons duly authorized to exercised CASB functions under sections (11), (12), (13), and (14) of the county assembly services Act effective the date of this letter,” said part of the memo.
He added Abdirashid Ali, Abdinur Dima Jillo, Abdi Sora Balla and Farida Muhamud Elema will be members while he will serve as the Clerk/Secretary.
Roba was last week granted anticipatory bail by the High Court, shielding him from arrest pending any potential charges that may be brought against him.
The court ordered that Roba deposit a cash bail of Sh100,000 by close of business Friday June 27. The court further directed that he reports to the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) at Isiolo Police Station once every two weeks, starting immediately, until such a time that a formal charge, if any, is filed in court within 90 days.
According to the court order, should any formal charges be brought against Roba within the 90 days, he will be required to appear in court for plea taking.
In such an event, the cash bail previously deposited will be refunded to him. The court also clarified that he shall not be arrested in connection with the anticipated offense until Roba fulfills the bail conditions by depositing the required amount.
The ruling comes amid growing speculation over alleged administrative and financial issues in the Isiolo County Assembly.
The Speaker, through lawyer Danstan Omari, disclosed that he had received credible information from officers working within the County Government of Isiolo and members of the Kenya Police that there were express instructions from Governor Guyo and his agents to arbitrarily arrest and detain him.
He argued that the alleged aim of the move was to stop a scheduled County Assembly sitting on Thursday, June 26, 2025, where impeachment proceedings against the Governor were set to take place.
Roba further argued that he had not been summoned or questioned by any police station or investigative agency in relation to any wrongdoing, describing the looming arrest as illegal, unlawful, and politically motivated.
He asserted that the threats and actions from the Governor’s office placed him under imminent threat of arrest and detention, hence his justified apprehension that his constitutional rights were under attack.
“The Applicant herein, being the Speaker of the Isiolo County government, has been subjected to immense threats from and by the Governor of Isiolo County and/or his agents and proxies with regards to the impending impeachment motion scheduled for the 26th of June 2025,” read court papers.
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