A Nakuru court has jailed Bomet Governor Hillary Barchok for one month over contempt of court after he failed to comply with orders in a labour dispute that has dragged on for months.
County Secretary Simeon Mutai and nine other county officials were also sentenced together with the governor.
The matter stems from proceedings in which the Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered the Bomet County Government to reinstate 350 employees whose contracts were allegedly terminated unlawfully.
On Thursday, June 18, the officials were found guilty of defying the reinstatement directive issued in March.
The court directed the 11 officials to serve their sentence at Nakuru GK Prison until they show compliance with the reinstatement orders.
News of the sentencing emerged amid conflicting reports, with some claims saying the governor had been arrested while others said he was still carrying out official duties.
Information available indicated that the governor was not arrested on Thursday, as he was reportedly involved in official work, including inspections of three ongoing road projects in Nyangores Ward, Chepalungu Sub-County.
He also announced the start of installation works for long-life milk and fresh pasteurised milk processing machines at the Chebunyo Dairies plant in Chebunyo Ward.
The sentencing came a day after the governor announced that he would vie for the Bomet County Senator seat under the United Democratic Alliance party in the 2027 General Elections.
This is not the first time the governor has appeared in court, as he was arraigned before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court in 2025 on several graft-related charges after surrendering to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Nairobi.
He denied the charges, which included conflict of interest, acquisition of proceeds of crime and money laundering.
Months later, he was released after spending a night at Kilimani Police Station, with court conditions barring him and his co-accused from publicly discussing the case during the trial period.
He was also prohibited from contacting or interfering with prosecution witnesses, either directly or through intermediaries.