The High Court has ordered former Nairobi County Finance Executive Charles Kerich to surrender within three days to begin serving a three-month jail sentence after finding him guilty of contempt of court.
The court rejected an application by Kerich’s lawyers seeking to suspend the sentence pending the hearing of fresh applications and directed that he present himself to the relevant prison authorities for committal to Industrial Area Prison.
The judge further ordered that if Kerich fails to surrender within the stipulated period, police should arrest him immediately, warning that he would be treated as a fugitive from justice.
Kerich’s legal team argued that he is a law-abiding citizen who has never absconded and has consistently made himself available whenever required by the court.
The lawyers also informed the court that Kerich ceased serving as the Nairobi County Executive Committee Member for Finance on June 5, 2026, and therefore no longer holds the office that formed the basis of the contempt proceedings.
They further told the court that they had filed an application seeking to purge the contempt findings and asked the court to suspend the sentence pending its determination.
However, the judge ruled that the first issue before the court was to formally validate the applications filed by Kerich’s new legal team before considering any other arguments. The court noted that it was fully familiar with the matter, having handled the case from its inception.
The applications were scheduled for hearing on July 29, 2026, but the court declined to stay the custodial sentence in the interim.
The contempt proceedings stem from Kerich’s failure to comply with earlier court orders, resulting in his conviction and the imposition of the three-month jail term.
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