The High Court has ordered suspended Nairobi County Finance Executive Charles Kerich to immediately surrender to the Industrial Area Remand Prison after declining to suspend a three-month jail term imposed on him for contempt of court.
Delivering the ruling on Tuesday, Justice Francis Gikonyo dismissed Kerich’s request to halt the sentence pending the hearing of fresh applications filed by his new legal team, holding that there was no justification for interfering with the existing orders.
“I am not going to suspend my order. If he can present himself to court, let him present himself to the relevant authority,” Justice Gikonyo ruled.
The judge further warned that if Kerich failed to surrender as directed, he would be arrested and treated as a fugitive.
“If he continues like that, then this court will treat him as a fugitive,” the judge cautioned.
The contempt proceedings arise from Kerich’s failure to comply with court orders directing the Nairobi County Government to pay Ksh106.7 million in legal fees owed to Kwengu and Company Advocates.
Although the court refused to suspend the custodial sentence, it admitted four applications filed by Kerich’s newly appointed advocates and directed that they be argued through oral submissions on July 29, 2026.
Appearing for Kerich, advocate Duncan Okatch urged the court to temporarily stay the sentence until those applications were heard, arguing that his client had demonstrated respect for the judicial process by appearing before the court and had never attempted to evade justice.
“My Lord, he is a law-abiding person. He comes before you with honesty and humility. All we are asking is that you give him the benefit of the doubt until the applications before you are heard,” Okatch submitted.
Counsel further argued that the applications had already been responded to and were ready for hearing, urging the court to allow his client an opportunity to argue them before commencing the prison sentence.
“If, after hearing us, the court finds that the sentence should still run, then it will run. All we are asking is that you allow us to persuade the court. If we fail, your pen is still there,” he told the court.
Okatch also informed the court that Kerich was no longer serving as the County Executive Committee Member for Finance, stating that he ceased holding the office on June 5, 2026 after another official assumed the position. He submitted that the development had been addressed in one of the pending applications.
Justice Gikonyo, however, held that the court could not consider those substantive arguments before first regularising the applications filed by the new legal team.
“First things first. You have not even come on record. Your applications have not been validated yet. That is where we should start before I consider all these other arguments,” the judge said.
The judge added that he was fully familiar with the dispute, having presided over it from its inception.
“I have handled this matter from the beginning. I know what has happened in this case,” he observed.
After validating the applications, the court fixed them for hearing on July 29 but maintained that the sentence remained in force, requiring Kerich to report to prison immediately.
Representing Kwengu and Company Advocates, lawyer Gordon Ogado urged the court to enforce its earlier orders, arguing that Kerich had already been convicted of contempt and should begin serving the sentence without further delay.
Justice Gikonyo ultimately declined to interfere with the custodial order, directing Kerich to surrender to prison immediately while his pending applications await hearing later this month.
