A Milimani Commercial Courts ordered lawyer Ignatius Muhatia to pay Sh1.5 million in damages to Harriet Chiggai, the Special Advisor on Women’s Rights to the President, for defamatory statements made in a lawyers’ WhatsApp group. Chief Magistrate Daniel Kanyinke Ole Keiwua, in a judgment delivered virtually on January 13, 2026, found that Muhatia’s comment accusing Chiggai of “trading my body for positions” was false, malicious, and calculated to lower her reputation before over 1,000 members of the “Western Jurists Forum.” The dispute originated on March 22, 2023, during a heated online debate about First Lady Rachel Ruto’s adoption of 200…
Author: Pinnah Mokeira
The Embu High Court Thursday ordered the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to surrender all polling materials from the Mbeere North parliamentary election for secure custody within the court premises. The order was issued after the court set aside 10 hearing days in March, 2026 for petitions challenging the outcome of the August 2025 election. During a pre-trial conference held on Thursday, the presiding judge Richard Mwongo said the key issues for determination are the eligibility of the declared winner, Njeru Leo Wa Muthende, and whether the final results reflected the genuine will of the electorate. The consolidated petitions…
Lugari Member of Parliament Nabii Daraja Nabwera has sued Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Angatia Savula over alleged defamatory remarks touching on his health status and performance as a legislator. In a petition filed in Court, Nabwera accused the Deputy Governor of making false, malicious and defamatory statements during a burial ceremony held on November 25, 2025, within Lugari Constituency. According to court documents, Savula allegedly told mourners that schools in Lugari were failing because the MP was “sick and living with HIV.” Nabwera said the remarks were untrue, insensitive and a violation of his constitutional rights to dignity, privacy and…
Lugari MP Nabii Daraja Nabwera Wednesday threatened to sue Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Angatia Savula over what he terms as defamatory and malicious statements allegedly made during a burial ceremony in November last year. In a demand letter dated January 14, 2026, Nabwera’s lawyer Danstan Omari accused Savula of making “vicious, inaccurate, derogatory and defamatory” remarks during the burial of the late Munyuki Secondary School principal Simon Isiaho Shange at Ludodo village, Likuyani Sub-County. The letter claimed that the Deputy Governor went as far as allegedly airing the legislator’s HIV status without proof, an act the MP says gravely injured…
A Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court allowed the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to detain two police officers for 14 days to complete investigations into the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Shukri Adan Ibrahim Issaka. The officers, Godwin Mjomba and Patrick Mutunga Titus, will be held at Capitol Hill Police Station. IPOA had sought 21 days, but principal magistrate Caroline Mugo granted them 14 days. According to IPOA Senior Assistant Director of Investigations Abdirahman Jibril, the incident occurred in the early hours of January 11, 2026, near the MCC area within the Villa Police Station jurisdiction. He said Shukri Adan was with…
More than 20 Congolese medical doctors working in Kenya filed an application at the High Court seeking orders to compel the government to renew their practising licences and work permits. They argued that the decision to block them from practice is unlawful and discriminatory. The doctors, who have lived and worked in Kenya for over a decade, accused the Ministry of Health and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) of arbitrarily declining to renew their licences following a directive issued on January 7, 2026. In court papers, the applicants through their lawyer Danstan Omari argued that the Cabinet…
The High Court ruled that the 60-day timeline for determining cases under the Small Claims Court Act does not automatically strip a court of jurisdiction. In a judgment delivered on December 1, 2025, lady Justice Asenath Ongeri dismissed an appeal by Dennis Wachenje Maghanga and upheld a ruling of the Nairobi Small Claims Court reinstating a claim filed by Abeid Walid Alias. The court found that although Section 34 of the Small Claims Court Act directs that matters be determined within 60 days, the timeline is not a “self-executing guillotine” that extinguishes jurisdiction once it lapses, particularly where delays are…
A Nairobi court deferred sentencing after a man pleaded guilty to stealing railway equipment from the Kenya Railways Central Workshop. Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego ordered that a pre-sentence report be prepared and presented to the court on January 8, 2026. The accused, Josphat Kamau Chege, admitted that on January 4, 2026, at about 3:00 pm, he stole three radiator grills used in a locomotive train, valued at Sh40,566, property of the Kenya Railways Corporation. According to the prosecution, railway security officers were on routine patrol within the central workshop area near Gate A and Bliss Medical Centre when they heard…
A Milimani court released the Atheists president Harrison Nyende Mumia accused of publishing false information about President William Ruto on a bond of Sh1 million. Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego on Monday granted bond to Harrison Nyende Mumia, also known as Robinson Kipruto Ngetich, after he pleaded not guilty to four counts of false publication. He was also granted a cash bail of Sh500,000 and ordered to surrender his passport. The prosecution alleged that on December 30, 2025, while at an unknown location within Kenya, Mumia used a pseudo Facebook account under the username Robinson Kipruto Ngetich to post images of…
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) said it will appeal a High Court judgment which halted disciplinary proceedings before the commission. In a statement issued on December 24, the JSC said it had taken note of the judgment, which relates to the discharge of its constitutional mandate under Articles 168, 171 and 172 of the Constitution. The Commission said, as an independent constitutional body established under Article 171, it is expressly mandated to safeguard and advance judicial independence and accountability. It argues that Article 168 of the Constitution vests it with the responsibility to receive, consider and, where constitutional thresholds are…
The Senior Counsel Bar (SCB) joined the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) in faulting a recent High Court judgement that halted disciplinary proceedings before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), arguing that the decision risks weakening constitutional accountability within the Judiciary. In a press statement dated December 24, 2025, SCB Chairperson Senior Counsel Philip Murgor said the body had taken note of the judgement delivered on December 18, 2025, in HCCHRPET/E110/2025 – Kennedy Echesa Walubengu v State Law Office & Another, and fully agrees with the position already taken by the LSK. “The SCB records its full agreement with, and adoption…
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) criticised a High Court judgement that halted disciplinary proceedings against a judge. They alleged that the decision risks paralysing constitutional accountability mechanisms within the Judiciary. In a statement by its President, Faith Odhiambo, the Society expressed profound disagreement with the judgement delivered on December 18, 2025, by a three-judge bench comprising Justices Aburili, Chigiti and Muteti in HCCHRPET/E110/2025, Kennedy Echesa Walubengu v State Law Office & Another. The case arose from a complaint lodged before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) against Lady Justice Dorah Chepkwony by an advocate representing an accused person appearing before…
The High Court ordered the forfeiture of assets valued at Sh76.2 million after finding that they constitute unexplained wealth linked to former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Ndung’u Waititu. In a judgment delivered by Justice Nixon Sifuna, the court partly allowed a civil forfeiture suit filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) under Section 55 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA). The suit, filed on May 27, 2022, sought the forfeiture of assets worth approximately Sh1.94 billion, alleged to have been acquired through corrupt conduct. The respondents included Waititu, his wife Susan Wangari Ndung’u, and three associated companies including…
Embu Senator Alexander Munyi Mundigi has strongly declined accusations by the Democratic Party of Kenya (DPK) that he breached party loyalty by campaigning for a rival candidate and supporting activities linked to the Kenya Kwanza coalition. The Democratic Party, in a warning letter dated November 18, 2025, accused the senator of actively campaigning for a candidate who is not the party’s nominated aspirant for the Mbeere North parliamentary seat. The party further alleged that Mundigi continued to publicly associate with Kenya Kwanza despite what it says was the party’s withdrawal from the coalition. DPK warned that the alleged actions amounted…
Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO) moved to Court challenging garnishee orders that froze all its bank accounts over Sh10 billion claim. The company argued that the action threatens to cripple national electricity transmission and disrupt essential services across the country. Through its lawyers DBM Mosota and Mr Emmanuel Mumia, the Company argued that the case raises core questions about the limits of garnishee jurisdiction, particularly where execution is directed at a State corporation entrusted with national infrastructure. According to the legal team, freezing seventeen accounts in one sweep goes beyond lawful enforcement and offends established principles that execution should…