The High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the constitutionality of the mandatory death sentence. Justice Lawrence Mugambi also declined to hear a fresh sentencing request by the petitioner. Justice Mugambi ruled that the petition lacked merit and that the High Court had no jurisdiction to revisit a matter that had already been determined by a court of superior jurisdiction. The petition, filed on October 31, 2024, was supported by affidavits dated November 19, 2024, and sought to have the petitioner’s case reheard so that his mitigating circumstances could be considered. The petitioner Byron Robert, argued that the mandatory…
Author: Pinnah Mokeira
The High Court on Thursday gave the Attorney General, the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, and the Affordable Housing Board 14 days to file their responses in a petition challenging the allocation of affordable housing units to teachers and police officers. Justice Lawrence Mugambi issued the orders after the parties agreed to drop a pending application and proceed with the hearing of the main petition. The judge also directed that all interested parties, the National Police Service (NPS), the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Kenya National…
The High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the alleged fraudulent subdivision and acquisition of a parcel of land in Nairobi, ruling that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Environment and Land Court (ELC). Justice Lawrence Mugambi said the court lacked the authority to hear and determine the dispute since the issues raised revolved around ownership, subdivision, and use of land, which are matters exclusively handled by the ELC under Article 162(2)(b) of the Constitution. The case stemmed from a petition originally filed on May 24, 2024, and later amended on July 31, 2024, in which the…
Thirty-five Ugandan nationals affiliated with the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party have sued the Kenyan government, accusing it of unlawful arrest, assault, and forcible deportation to Uganda. In a petition filed before the High Court in Nairobi, the Ugandans have named the Inspector General of Police, the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration, the Director-General of Immigration Services, and the Attorney General as respondents. The petitioners claim they lawfully travelled to Kenya on July 23, 2024, to attend a seven-day leadership training at Ukweli Pastoral Centre in Kisumu County, but were attacked in the middle of the…
Civil society group Bunge La Mwananchi and three activists have filed a petition seeking the immediate suspension of Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga, accusing him of making ethnically divisive and inflammatory remarks in violation of the Constitution. In the petition filed before the High Court in Nairobi, the group alongside Lawrence Oyugi, Komrade Bush, and Nicholas Kimanzi argue that Governor Kahiga’s utterances at a public function in Nyeri in October 2024 amounted to hate speech and a breach of his oath of office. Through a certificate of urgency, the petitioners claim that Kahiga’s comments, delivered in the Kikuyu language, were loaded…
A Nairobi resident and voter has filed a petition at the High Court seeking to stop the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from continuing with preparations for the 2027 General Elections. In the case filed under certificate of urgency, Bernard Mwanzia Munguí argues that the current electoral and governance framework is unconstitutional and must be reviewed before the next elections are held. Mwanzia has sued the IEBC, the Attorney General, and the Speakers of both the National Assembly and the Senate. He is seeking conservatory orders to suspend all IEBC preparatory activities, including budgeting, procurement, and planning, until his…
Several public service vehicle (PSV) Saccos have defended their operations at petrol stations in Nairobi, dismissing a petition seeking their removal as a politically motivated attempt to cripple the transport sector. In a replying affidavit, the Saccos among them Prestige, Kinatwa, KAM, Makos, Kamuna, Kangema Travellers, Inter-County, Muna, GTS Supreme, Kigumo T, Transline Classic, and NNUS Shuttle argue that they have operated safely from the same petrol stations for decades without a single fuel or gas-related incident. The petition, filed by Ezekiel Oyugi and John Karuru, accuses the Saccos and their host petrol stations of endangering public safety by using…
Gospel artist and motivational speaker Rozina Mwakideu has defended her remarks about her former husband, pastor and motivational speaker Robert Burale. She insisted that everything she said in a disputed video interview was true, fair comment, and constitutionally protected expression. In an affidavit filed before Milimani Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki, Rozina opposed Burale’s application seeking an injunction to pull down the video interview published on Alex Mwakideu TV. Through her sworn statement, Rozina said her comments in the interview were based on personal experiences during her one-year marriage to Burale, which ended over a decade ago. She described the marriage…
The Environment and Land Court in Voi has nullified a tender issued by the national government to lease a 15,000-acre livestock quarantine station in Taita Taveta County, declaring the process unconstitutional. Justice Edward Karoph Mabwoto ruled that the tender, which sought to lease the Bachuma Livestock Quarantine Station for 30 years, infringed on functions reserved for county governments under the Constitution. The tender, referenced as MOALD/SDA/BLQS/IT/01/2024/2025, was advertised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in July 2024. It invited private investors to manage, develop, and maintain the Bachuma facility also known as Bachuma LMD Farm for livestock screening…
A 22-year-old university student was charged before a Nairobi Chief Magistrate’s court with publishing false information and unlawfully possessing multiple national identity cards belonging to other people. Chrispinus Nassiuma Nambafu, a Meru University student, appeared before Principal Magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi, where he denied all four counts leveled against him. In the first count, Nambafu is accused of publishing false and misleading information contrary to Section 22(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act No. 5 of 2018. The court heard that between 2022 and October 11, 2025, the accused allegedly shared fake Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination…
The Law Society of Kenya Vice President Mwaura Kabata and Embakasi East MP Babu Owino moved to court seeking to bar Cabinet Secretaries from engaging in political activities, arguing that their conduct violates the Constitution and principles of leadership and integrity. In a petition filed under a certificate of urgency, the two petitioners accuse members of President William Ruto’s Cabinet of openly campaigning for political candidates ahead of the November 27 by-elections, contrary to the law governing state officers. Through lawyer Abner Collins Mango, the petitioners sued the Attorney General, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and 19 other Cabinet Secretaries,…
The Environment and Land court in Nairobi was Monday asked to set aside orders stopping Mahadi Energy Limited from occupying several prime properties in Nairobi and Mombasa that were allegedly sold in invalid auctions. In an application filed under a certificate of urgency, Mahadi Energy Limited and its director Ibrahim Hussein Mahadi through their lawyer Danstan Omari, told the Environment and Land Court at Milimani that the ex parte orders issued on October 23, were obtained through material non-disclosure and have caused them immense loss. The disputed properties include parcels located along Mtelo Road in South C, Juja Road in…
A Nairobi Chief Magistrate’s Court granted bail to a 20-year-old university student charged with defrauding Sidian Bank of more than Sh7.8 million. Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina released Collins Mutuma, a student at Mount Kenya University, who is facing several charges including conspiracy to defraud, stealing, and acquiring and using proceeds of crime. According to the charge sheet presented before court, the accused, jointly with others not before court, is alleged to have conspired to defraud Sidian Bank of Sh7,882,845 on January 11, 2025, at an unknown location within Kenya by unlawfully siphoning funds from various accounts domiciled at the bank.…
A Nairobi Chief Magistrate Court has dismissed an application by an accused person seeking to have the trial magistrate withdraw from hearing a criminal case against him and his co-accused. Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego, sitting at the Milimani Law Courts, ruled that the application filed by the first accused, former Nairobi Provincial commissioner Davis Chelugoi, was an attempt to intimidate the court and lacked legal merit. Chelugoi, alongside his co-accused Andrew Kirungu, is facing criminal charges in case number MCCR/E1137/2023. The first accused had asked the magistrate to recuse herself, claiming bias and alleging that her “body language, writings, and…
The High Court in Nairobi has dismissed a bid by the University of Nairobi (UoN) to overturn a decision that reduced the legal costs it had sought from The Standard Group Limited in a defamation dispute. Justice Prof. (Dr.) Nixon Sifuna upheld a ruling by Taxing Officer Sylvia Motari, who had in February this year assessed the university’s instruction fees at Sh100,000 and getting-up fees at Sh33,333, far below the Sh7.9 million the institution had claimed. The dispute arose from a 2017 defamation case Nairobi HCCC No. 70 of 2017 in which UoN sued the media house over a story…