The Chief Officer, Department of Transport and Infrastructure, County Government of Vihiga, has been ordered by a court in Vihiga to pay Mohasom Ltd. a sum of Ksh. 13,888,939/=, together with interest thereon, or face court action.
Vihiga High Court Judge J. Kamau ruled that Mohasom Ltd. had filed a motion dated February 22, 2022, in which the company sought an order to compel the Chief Officer, the Department of Transport and Infrastructure in the county to pay the sum of Ksh. 7,950,133.75 together with interest with effect from January 2016 and costs totalling Ksh. 13,888,939/= as of September 13, 2021, being the decrial sum and costs awarded and found payable to it in Vihiga CMCC No. 121 of 2019 Mohasom Limited v. The County Government of Vihiga.
However, the Chief Officer, of the Department of Transport and Infrastructure, County Government of Vihiga, failed to pay the sum, which continued to accrue interest. The court noted that the county government of Vihiga failed to carry out its constitutional and statutory mandate, did so at its detriment, and cannot defeat a lawful claim that has been made against the government.
The judge noted, “For the foregoing reasons, the upshot of this court’s decision was that the ex parte applicant’s Notice of Motion application dated February 22, 2022 and filed on February 23, 2022, was merited and the same be and is hereby allowed in terms of Prayer No. (a) therein to the effect that an order of mandamus be and is hereby issued against the respondent herein to pay the ex parte applicant herein the sum of Ksh. 13,888,939/= together with interest thereon at court rates from September 14, 2021 until payment in full.”
