Busia Governor Paul Nyongesa Otuoma has been ordered to personally appear before the Environment and Land Court to explain why he should not be committed to civil jail for contempt of court over disputed public land in Busia County.
In a ruling delivered on December 17, Environment and Land Court Judge Boaz Olao found that the governor deliberately disobeyed court orders issued to protect public land that is the subject of an ongoing petition.
The court also cited the County Executive Committee member for Lands, Peter Khasamule Odima, as the second respondent in the contempt proceedings.
Judge Olao directed that Governor Otuoma and the CEC member must, within 14 days, execute and file a formal undertaking confirming full compliance with conservatory orders issued on June 27 and July 10, 2024. The two were further ordered to appear in court on March 2, 2026, to show cause why they should not be committed to civil jail for disobedience of court orders.
The contempt proceedings arise from a petition filed on June 19, 2024, by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah Okoiti, who accused the Busia County Executive of irregular dealings involving public land.
Omtatah alleges that land housing the Busia Vocational Training Centre, Soko Posta Market and the Agricultural Training College was unlawfully converted into private ownership, paving the way for illegal allocation and development.
Following the filing of the petition, the court issued conservatory orders suspending all transactions and developments on the disputed parcels. The orders were later extended, with clear directions that all activities on the land be halted pending determination of the case.
In response to the contempt application, Odima filed a replying affidavit dated June 23, 2025, insisting that any developments on the land predated the court orders. He denied any role by the governor in the allocation or development of the parcels and described the petition as politically motivated and an abuse of the court process.
However, the court noted that Governor Otuoma did not personally respond to the application and failed to file any affidavit to rebut the allegations made against him.
Judge Olao further observed that Odima had, in a letter dated May 27, 2024, acknowledged that land occupied by the vocational training centre had been re-allocated to the Busia County Referral Hospital for expansion. The court held that this admission could not later be disowned.
“He cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time,” the judge ruled.
The court concluded that both respondents were fully aware of the conservatory orders but nonetheless allowed activities to continue on the disputed land in open defiance of the court’s directions.
Judge Olao emphasized that obedience to court orders is mandatory, warning that no individual or public office holder is above the law.
