The High Court in Nairobi has declined to certify as urgent a constitutional petition seeking to stop the payment of more than Sh3 billion to 463 alleged ghost workers in Bungoma County and alleging the existence of a fraudulent litigation syndicate involving advocates, trade union officials, and judicial officers.
Lady Justice Roselyne Aburili of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division ruled that the petition and accompanying application filed on April 27, did not demonstrate circumstances warranting immediate intervention by the court.
“The petitioners are directed to serve all the respondents and interested parties with the petition and the notice of motion for inter partes mention for directions on June 15, 2026,” the judge ordered.
The petition was filed by four individuals led by Benard Barasa Wakwabubi, the Vice Chairperson of the Bungoma Branch of the County Government Workers Union.
They sought to quash a 2020 judgment in Bungoma ELRC Petition No. 1 of 2019, which they claim was obtained through fraud, misrepresentation and concealment of material facts.
At the centre of the dispute is the alleged irregular conversion of 463 purported casual workers into permanent and pensionable employees of the Bungoma County Government.
According to the petitioners, at least 116 of the listed beneficiaries possessed national identity card numbers in the 32–39 series, which they argue were issued after the establishment of county governments in 2013.
The petition further alleged that 14 of the beneficiaries are biological children of retired county employee Moses Maelo Muyundi, who had sworn affidavits in the original labour dispute, while some individuals listed were allegedly minors or students at the time.
The petitioners also alleged that findings from a Human Resource Taskforce audit conducted in October 2022, established that 403 individuals received permanent appointment letters despite never having served as casual employees.
“A Human Resource Taskforce Audit report conducted in October 2022 revealed that 403 persons were issued permanent appointment letters by the 8th Respondent (CPSB) who were neither on the court-awarded list nor had any record of ever working as casuals,” read the court documents.
The petitioners additionally alleged the existence of a network of interconnected law firms operating to siphon public funds through fictitious litigation and legal fee claims against county governments.
Court documents claimed that several law firms including Roba & Associates Advocates LLP, MAO Advocates LLP and Njuguna Mwaura & Co. Advocates share the same postal address despite operating from different physical offices.
The petitioners alleged that advocate Abdirizak Roba Duba, son of County Government Workers Union Secretary-General Roba S. Duba, operates the firms interchangeably in conflict with professional and ethical standards.
The petition also alleged conflict of interest involving Roba S. Duba, who is said to sit on the board of the Local Authorities Provident Fund (LAPFUND) while recommending his son’s law firm for legal assignments.
“The Union is neither a banking institution nor an entity engaged in debt recovery,” one affidavit filed in support of the petition states.
Cited in the court documents is ELRC Petition No. E206 of 2021, where advocate Abdirizak Roba Duba is alleged to have appeared for the petitioner through MAO Advocates while Roba & Associates Advocates LLP simultaneously represented Nairobi City County in the same proceedings.
“The Petitioners aver that even before formal investigations could commence, the 11th Respondent (CEC Finance, Nairobi) authorized payments exceeding sh. 410,000,000 to 17 law firms between February and March 2021 for these ‘fictitious briefs’,” read the court documents.
The petition also accused advocate Ian Mwiti Mathenge, a partner at MAO Advocates, of practicing law without a valid practising certificate in 2022 and 2023 while continuing to file pleadings and urgent applications in court.
The petitioners further alleged that Mathenge was at the same time employed full-time by a United States-based law firm while purporting to practice in Kenya through entities not registered with the Registrar of Companies.
The petition accused advocate Sharon Atieno and Abdirizak Roba Duba of colluding to alter court judgments by reducing decretal sums before issuing amended versions to litigants.
“That I am aware that Advocate Sharon Atieno A. in collusion with Advocate Abdirizak Roba Duba, the 19th Respondent, have engaged in the alteration of judicial decisions, including tampering with judgments to reduce or adjust awarded sums and thereafter issuing the altered versions to litigants,” read the court documents.
The petition sought 33 orders from the court, including declarations that the Bungoma labour court judgment was fraudulent and void, injunctions barring Bungoma County from paying the sh3.026 billion claim, and orders compelling investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Auditor-General and the Asset Recovery Agency.
The petitioners are also seeking orders directing the Law Society of Kenya to institute disciplinary proceedings against the implicated law firms and asking that Justice David Nderitu, who presided over the original Bungoma case, be referred to the Judicial Service Commission for removal proceedings.
The matter will be mentioned on June 15, 2026 for further directions after service upon all respondents and intended interested parties, including the Law Society of Kenya, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Senate.
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