Court orders release of suspect detained over mutilation of currency notes
The High Court in Kisumu ordered the immediate release of a suspect detained pending a ruling on whether he should be held for 14 days over alleged mutilation of currency notes.
In a ruling delivered Thursday, Justice Joe Omido quashed custodial orders issued by a magistrate court on March 11, 2026, against Maximillan Motai Nyagwaya, who was being held at Central Police Station, Kisumu, awaiting a ruling on the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) application to detain him for 14 days pending investigations.
The DCI had applied to hold Nyagwaya for a 14 days to conclude investigations into an alleged offence of mutilating currency notes contrary to section 367A of the penal code.
The lower court heard the application on March 11 and reserved its ruling for March 25, ordering that in the meantime, the suspect remains in police custody.
However, Justice Omido ruled that the said section prescribes a maximum penalty of three months imprisonment or a fine not exceeding Sh2,000, or both, well within the constitutional threshold set out in Article 49(2) of the Constitution.
“Article 49(2) provides that a person shall not be remanded in custody for an offence if the offence is punishable only by a fine or by imprisonment for not more than six months,” the judge ruled.
“There is no two way about it. The order went against the constitutional provision. I need not say more.”
Through his lawyer, Oguso, the applicant moved the High Court seeking revision of what he termed an unlawful detention order.
Justice Omido agreed with the applicant’s submissions, ruling that a subordinate court hearing an application for remand must be guided by the Constitution’s explicit prohibition on custodial remand for offences carrying short imprisonment sentences.
“The High Court’s revisionary jurisdiction is a necessary corrective tool where subordinate courts’ orders result in infringements of fundamental rights or are otherwise irregular or improper.”
The judge directed Nyagwaya’s immediate release from Central Police Station, ruling that no criminal charges had been preferred against him.
“The Court further directs that the lower court file be closed, with no further action to be taken in respect of the application for custodial remand, as it should never have been entertained in the first place given the constitutional prohibition under Article 49(2),” Justice Omido ruled.
The Deputy Registrar has been directed to serve the orders upon the Officer in Charge, Central Police Station, Kisumu.