Republic v County Government of Kisumu; Auma (Ex parte Applicant) (Environment and Land Judicial Review Case E001 of 2024) [2025] KEELC 6070 (KLR)

Section 2 of the Public Finance Management Act ties the accounting officer of a county to Section 148, which empowers the CECM for finance to designate accounting officers for county government entities. Section 148(2) makes the person administering a county entity the accounting officer; under Section 45(3) of the County Governments Act those administrators are Chief Officers, not CECMs or the Governor. The three-judge bench in Council of Governors v Senate likewise held a Governor is not an accounting officer.

Section 21(3) of the Government Proceedings Act obliges the accounting officer for the government department concerned to pay certified sums. Both levels of government operate through departments, and the department concerned with payment of debts in this case is the finance department, whose accounting officer is the Chief Officer of finance. The application, having been brought against the Governor, failed for non-joinder and was struck out.

Although the facts were undisputed - the mandamus order of 8th July 2024 and the non-payment - the court held the wrong person had been cited. Since the Governor is not the accounting officer responsible for payment, contempt proceedings against the county as constituted could not succeed, and the application was struck out rather than dismissed on the merits.