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Through her lawyer Cecil Miller, Ms Shebesh told Dr Kidero to prepare for a legal duel saying she was not going to participate in an out of court settlement.
“We have no intention to negotiate and my client has issued express instructions to this effect, consequently, there are no intentions to strike any agreement out of court. My client wants the law to be the arbiter,” Mr Miller told Nation.
The lawyer said they have enough witnesses to testify in favour of Ms Shebesh.
The High Court on Friday blocked the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko from pursuing charges against Dr Kidero and Ms Shebesh of assault and creating disturbance, respectively.
Justice Isaac Lenaola also ordered that they pursue reconciliation and report back to him within 13 days.
Ms Shebesh has accused the governor of slapping her after she led a group of striking workers to his office. Dr Kidero also recorded statement with the police after the scuffle that day alleging that he was also assaulted.
Ms Shebesh’s move also breaks an agreement that had been brokered by former Kamukunji MP Simon Mbugua at Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko’s offices at KICC and is likely to have caught Dr Kidero's camp, which was gearing up for the reconciliatory talks, off guard.
Evans Ondieki, a lawyer to Alex Ochako who moved to court to stop the assault suit against Dr Kidero had earlier told Nation that they wanted the two parties to meet one on one and not through intermediaries to settle the dispute.
“We are preparing ground for the two to meet directly as opposed to going through brokers who might complicate the process,” Mr Ondieki said.
He said they had set out to meet Ms Shebesh on Saturday but it turned out that she was not available.
“We looked for her yesterday (Saturday) but she was not available. We were told she had other engagements but we are hoping to meet and sort out the issue once and for all,” he added.
MAY NEED TO RESIGN IF FOUND GUILTY
Law Society of Kenya chairman Eric Mutua warned that Dr Kidero and Ms Shebesh might be compelled to resign if either is found guilty.
“There is no legal requirement that they vacate office because of the charges. It would thus be premature to bring this up but should they be found guilty, that is a real possibility,” he said.
According to the Constitution, a governor can be removed from office for gross violation of the constitution or if he commits a crime under national or international law.
He can also be shown the door for abuse of office or physical or mental incapacity to perform his functions. The same applies to an MP, the office Ms Shebesh holds.
The failure to make peace could complicate matters for the two leaders because any city resident could move to court to demand their resignation should either of them be found guilty.
- Daily Nation
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