Former Nairobi County Finance Executive Committee Member for Finance Charles Kerich has been spared a three-month prison sentence after the High Court accepted a settlement reached between the parties in a long-running dispute over unpaid legal fees amounting to more than Ksh106 million.
The matter came before the Milimani High Court after the parties informed the court that they had negotiated a payment plan to clear the outstanding decretal amount.
Under the consent agreement, Nairobi City County has already paid Ksh30 million, while the remaining Ksh76,736,841 will be settled in agreed instalments. The payment schedule includes an instalment of Ksh36,736,841 to be paid by October 15, 2026, with the balance to be cleared thereafter.
The court heard that the delay in settling the judgment debt resulted from administrative procedures within the county government rather than a deliberate refusal to comply with the court’s orders.
In view of the agreement and the payment already made, the High Court vacated the orders committing Kerich to civil jail, finding that the circumstances justified suspending the enforcement of the earlier contempt orders.
Kerich had previously been found in contempt of court for failing to comply with orders requiring payment of the decretal sum. The court had directed him to surrender within three days to begin serving a three-month sentence and authorised his arrest should he fail to do so.
The consent adopted by the court provides that the committal orders will remain suspended provided the agreed payment schedule is honoured. It further states that once the decretal amount and agreed costs are paid in full, the contempt conviction, sentence and committal orders issued on May 19, 2026, will be vacated, bringing the dispute to a close.
However, the agreement also provides that if there is any default in payment, the suspension of the committal orders will automatically lapse, allowing the decree holder to enforce the jail orders and pursue other lawful means of recovering the outstanding balance.
