The High Court has temporarily halted the construction, financing and implementation of the Sh11 billion Riruta-Ngong Commuter Meter Gauge Railway Project pending the hearing and determination of a petition filed by Okiya Omtatah and two others. In interim conservatory orders issued on Tuesday, Justice Bahati Mwamuye restrained the Kenya Railway corporation (KRC) and respondents, whether jointly or severally, and whether directly or through their agents, employees or contractors, from progressing with the impugned project. The court further barred the allocation, disbursement or utilisation of any funds from the Railway Development Fund or the Consolidated Fund, outside budgetary allocations already approved…
Author: Pinnah Mokeira
A Nairobi court directed Mumias East MP Peter Salasya to issue a public apology and participate in a national peace and cohesion campaign as part of a settlement in his ongoing hate speech case. Senior Resident Magistrate Paul Mutai issued the directions on Monday after ruling that key terms of a conciliation agreement between Salasya and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) had not yet been implemented. Salasya is facing charges over statements he allegedly made during political engagements in Meru and Isiolo counties, as well as along the Nanyuki route. Prosecutors contend that the remarks amounted to hate…
A Nairobi court has released two suspects linked to a cybercrime scheme involving fake promises to alter Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) results on a cash bail of Sh70,000 each. Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina on Minday declined an application by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to detain the suspects for 14 days, instead he has ordered them to be released on bail pending investigations. The suspects, David Opiyo Odhiambo and Albert Kerry Nyandianga, are under investigation for false publication and obtaining money by false pretences. In his ruling, the magistrate directed the two to appear before DCI officers…
A Nairobi court on Monday declined to review the Sh500,000 cash bail imposed on Atheists in Kenya founder Harrison Mumia, directing that a pre-bail report be filed before any decision is made. Mumia appeared before Chief Magistrate Rose Ndombi for pre-trial directions, during which he also asked the court to compel the prosecution to supply a statement from President William Ruto, whom he said is the principal complainant in the case. Through his lawyer, Suyianka Lempaa, Mumia argued that the charge sheet lists only two witnesses despite the alleged victim being the Head of State. “Your Honour, we have seen…
The Court of Appeal blocked the sentencing of the Chief Executive Officer of Mater Misericordiae Hospital, who was found guilty of contempt of court in an employment dispute. In a ruling delivered, a three-judge bench comprising Justices Francis Tuiyott, Pauline Nyamweya and Joel Ngugi granted a temporary stay, preventing the CEO from appearing before the lower court for mitigation and a potential jail sentence, which was scheduled for this Friday, January 16, 2026. The appellate court restrained the ELRC from proceeding with mitigation, sentencing or any other penal consequences arising from the contempt finding against the hospital, which is operated…
The Court of Appeal has suspended the execution of a Sh485.8 million judgement issued by the High Court in a family dispute involving the management of a company linked to the estate of the late Samuel Maina Gatonga. In a ruling delivered on January 16, 2026 a three-judge bench comprising Justices Lydia Achode, Aggrey Muchelule and George Odunga granted a stay of execution pending the hearing and determination of an intended appeal by three brothers, John Kaguma Maina, Charles Kanyuga and Stanley Kariuki Maina. The applicants had moved to the appellate court challenging a High Court decision by Justice Mongare…
The Court of Appeal granted the Commissioner of Customs and Border Control a stay of execution suspending a High Court order that required the payment of Sh21 million in value-added tax (VAT) refunds to Animix Limited, pending the determination of an intended appeal. In a ruling delivered on January 16, 2026 a three-judge bench comprising Justices Mumbi Ngugi, Francis Tuiyott and Joel Ngugi held that the appeal raised arguable legal questions and that releasing the funds before the appeal is heard could have far-reaching implications for public revenue. The dispute stems from a tax classification disagreement that began before the…
The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by a former employee of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) who was sacked for his role in the loss of Sh1.2 million in company funds. Stephen Ndolo, a former Cashier Verification Supervisor, had challenged his 2013 dismissal, arguing that his termination was unfair and that the company’s cash management system was flawed. However, in a judgment delivered on January 16, 2026 a three-judge bench comprising Justices Francis Tuiyott, Aggrey Muchelule, and George Vincent Odunga found that Ndolo’s failure to account for the cash constituted gross misconduct and justified his summary…
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…
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…