A Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court will on Tuesday deliver its ruling in a burial dispute involving the children of the late Milka Moraa Ongubo, a retired nurse and former Chief Inspector of Police, who died on September 21, 2025 in Nakuru. The case, filed by Julia Kemunto Ongubo, Joyce Kerubo Ongubo, and Jackson Momanyi Ongubo, arose after the siblings accused their brother Justus Morara Ongubo and sister Judy Kemuma Ongubo of excluding them from their mother’s funeral plans. Through their lawyer Danstan Omari, the plaintiffs sought orders to stop the burial and allow them to participate fully in the funeral…
Author: Pinnah Mokeira
The Court of Appeal ruled that Section 7 of the Matrimonial Property Act, 2013 is constitutional. Section 7 provides that matrimonial property should be divided according to each spouse’s contribution. The court ruled that Section 7 does not violate Article 45(3) of the Constitution, which provides that parties to a marriage are entitled to equal rights at the time of marriage, during marriage, and upon its dissolution. “The equality envisaged under Article 45(3) does not mean that each spouse automatically walks away with 50 percent of the matrimonial property,” the court held. “It means that both parties are entitled to…
The High Court in Nairobi has summoned Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to appear before it and explain why police officers have failed to enforce a court order protecting property belonging to the estate of the late Charles Karuga Koinange. Justice Erick Kennedy Ogolla, sitting in the Family Division, issued the summons in Succession Cause No. 998 of 2006. In his ruling, the judge held that the court had on November 6, 2024, issued an order safeguarding the property L.R. No. 134/8, located in Kiambu District and registered in the name of CKK Estates (1973) Limited. The order directed…
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an attempt by the Ministry of Defence and the Attorney General to stop the payment of Sh1 million awarded to a former Kenya Army soldier who was unlawfully dismissed from the military nearly two decades ago. A three-judge bench comprising Justices Wanjiru Karanja, Kathurima M’Inoti, and Lydia Achode ruled that the government had failed to demonstrate that its intended appeal would be rendered nugatory if the stay order it sought was not granted. The Defence Cabinet Secretary, who also chairs the Defence Council, and the Attorney General had moved to the appellate court seeking…
The Court of Appeal upheld a High Court decision finding APA Insurance Limited liable for a fire that razed down the factory of Britind Industries Limited, but reduced the compensation from Sh82.3 million to Sh58.6 million. A three-judge bench comprising Justices Wanjiru Karanja, Fatuma Sichale Tuiyott, and Pauline Nyamweya delivered the ruling in Nairobi, partially allowing APA’s appeal against the 2023 High Court judgment. Britind, a Nairobi-based manufacturer of wooden pallets, toilet tissue, serviettes, and other paper-based products, had insured its factory and assets with APA against fire and business-related risks. The policy was effective from November 12,2015 to November…
A court dismissed a bid by the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) to seize Sh572 million from former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko’s bank accounts. The ruling is a reprieve for Sonko in all ways. The court ruled that the funds were not proven to be proceeds of crime. Justice Prof. Nixon Sifuna, sitting at the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division, criticised ARA for what he described as “selective, rash and unprofessional investigations” that failed to establish any credible link between the funds and corruption or money laundering. The agency had targeted ten accounts belonging to Sonko at Equity Bank, Diamond Trust…
Former MUA Insurance (Kenya) Limited Chief Executive Officer Lydia Kibaara has threatened to sue her former employer over what she terms as false and defamatory allegations linking her to a Sh1.6 billion fraud at the insurer. Through lawyer Danstan Omari, Kibaara issued a seven-day ultimatum to MUA Group to retract the claims, publish an unconditional apology, and enter into talks over damages, or face legal action. The dispute stems from a Business Daily article of September 23 titled “Mauritian firm MUA takes Sh1.6bn hit in Kenya fraud,” which reported that Kibaara was dismissed from her role as CEO and tied…
The High Court in Nairobi ordered the Nation Media Group Limited to pay Nyamira Senator Erick Okong’o Mogeni and his wife, Lady Justice Jacqueline Mogeni, a total of Sh6.5 million in damages for defamation. In a judgment delivered by Justice Nixon Sifuna on September 25, the court found that a November 2021 article published in the Sunday Nation under the headline “Lawmaker pushes wife’s hiring as judge” was false, malicious, and damaging to the reputation of the couple. The article alleged that a legislator serving on Parliament’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee had improperly used his influence to secure his…
The High Court in Kibera Tuesday declined to release on bail six people accused of killing Albert Omondi Ojwang while he was in custody at Central Police Station in Nairobi. Lady Justice Diana Kavedza ruled that releasing the accused at this stage would risk reigniting public unrest, following the widespread protests and destruction of property sparked by Ojwang’s death, including the burning of Mawego Police Station. “The release of the accused at this stage would risk aggravating public tension, with the potential for renewed unrest,” Justice Kavedza said. She said that the matter remains highly sensitive and continues to evoke…
A Nairobi court will on October 13, 2025, rule whether to allow a former director of Oki Trading Company Limited (OTCL), Honey Khatwani, to temporarily reclaim his passport in order to travel to Dubai for a business trip. Khatwani, who is facing charges of stealing Sh356,711,174.40 from OTCL, filed an application seeking the release of his passport, for scheduled business engagement in Dubai between September 29 and October 16, 2025. When the matter came up for mention on Monday before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego, the prosecution, led by State Counsel Hillary Isiakho, requested for 14 days to file…
A police officer arrested in Nairobi with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition will remain in custody until Monday, September 27, 2026 after a Nairobi court allowed him time to secure legal representation. Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo ruled that Corporal Isaac Kipngetich, an armourer attached to Turkana County Police Headquarters, could not be denied his right to counsel. He directed that the officer be held at Capitol Hill Police Station before the matter is mentioned before Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark Ikhubi. “The suspect has requested his counsel to represent him. That is one of the rights that this court…
A man accused of running a human trafficking syndicate was detained for ten days to allow police to complete investigations. The Kahawa Law Courts ordered that Edward Kamau Gituku be held at Muthaiga Police Station after prosecutors from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) applied for his continued detention. He is accused of involvement in a syndicate trafficking Kenyans to Russia to join the war against Ukraine. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) told the court that Gituku was arrested on September 25, 2025 at Great Wall Gardens estate in Athi River, Machakos County, where officers rescued…
Two Somali teenagers captured in a viral video allegedly desecrating the Kenyan flag at Nyayo Stadium were detained at the Gigiri Child Protection Unit pending a social inquiry report. The minors, aged 14 and 17, were filmed on Saturday, September 20, 2025, during a football match between Mogadishu City Club and Police FC. They were later arrested and arraigned on Friday, September 26, 2025, before Senior Resident Magistrate Rose Gitau at the Milimani law court. The prosecution sought to have them detained a the Youth Corrective Training Centre (YCTC) at Kamiti Prison pending age assessment. However, their lawyer, Ishmael Nyaribo,…
A Nairobi court acquitted a Somali man accused of fraudulently obtaining Kenyan registration documents, giving false information to public officers, and being unlawfully present in the country, after finding that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Delivering judgment on September 22, 2025, Principal Magistrate Rose Ndombi ruled that the evidence presented against Abdihakim Saidi Jama was riddled with gaps and inconsistencies that could not sustain a conviction. Jama had been charged with three counts allegedly committed in 2011 when he applied for a national identity card in Isiolo, including obtaining registration by false pretence, giving…
A Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court was told how former Oki Trading Company Limited (OTCL) Managing Director, Honey Khatwani, allegedly diverted more than Sh356 million from the company into his personal accounts. Two prosecution witnesses testified before Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego, detailing how the ex-director allegedly manipulated company finances, exploited staff, and secretly established a competing business between 2020 and 2024. The first witness, Jatin Aswani, said he joined OTCL in July 2023 but worked without proper documentation because Khatwani failed to process his work permit. He told the court that although he signed an employment contract, he was never issued…