Teacher moves to court to have Milemba’s Emuhaya seat declared vacant

A fresh legal battle has emerged over Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba’s parliamentary seat after a teacher petitioned the court, accusing him of holding multiple public positions while allegedly continuing to earn a salary from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

The petitioner, Vivian Chepkemoi, wants the court to declare the constituency seat vacant, arguing that Milemba failed to resign from his teaching job before contesting in the 2022 General Election, despite constitutional requirements governing public officers seeking elective positions.

In her petition, Chepkemoi claims that Milemba admitted under oath that he remained a TSC employee under secondment and continued receiving a monthly salary of Sh120,000 even after assuming parliamentary office.

She further alleges that the legislator draws additional income from his positions at the Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet), where he reportedly receives Sh80,000 monthly, and as UDA Deputy Secretary General, earning another Sh100,000.

According to the petitioner, the MP earns approximately Sh1.1 million monthly as a legislator, raising concerns over what she describes as the unlawful accumulation of earnings from multiple publicly funded positions.

Chepkemoi is seeking orders compelling the Speaker of the National Assembly to declare Milemba’s seat vacant and notify the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to initiate a by-election.

She also wants the court to direct the TSC to remove the MP from its payroll and recover all salaries paid to him from August 9, 2022, when he took up his parliamentary position.

The petition also targets his leadership roles in Kuppet and UDA, with Chepkemoi asking the court to order his removal from both positions and the recovery of allowances allegedly received.

Further, she wants the Registrar of Political Parties to deregister Milemba as a UDA official and seeks his prosecution if the court establishes that he made false declarations concerning his employment status during the 2022 nominations.

The petitioner has also applied for conservatory orders to suspend the MP’s salary payments while the case is being heard, warning that continued payments could make the recovery of public funds difficult.

She estimates that Milemba has already received Sh151.2 million through the four alleged payrolls and could continue earning approximately Sh1.4 million every month as the case proceeds.

Chepkemoi argues that the matter came to light following an affidavit Milemba filed on July 27 in an employment and labour relations dispute before the Nairobi court.

In the affidavit, filed in ELRC Petition E253 of 2025, Milemba allegedly acknowledged that he had not resigned from the TSC but remained employed under secondment.

The petitioner maintains that he should have relinquished his teaching position at least six months before the February 2022 nominations but instead continued receiving payments from his various roles.

She further claims to have sought clarification from both the IEBC and TSC through formal letters requesting details of Milemba’s employment status and eligibility. However, she says the IEBC did not respond, while the TSC only acknowledged receipt of her correspondence without providing the requested information.

The court is now being asked to determine whether Milemba’s alleged continued employment and multiple leadership positions violated constitutional provisions governing public officers and elective leadership.