UPDATE: Justice Bahati Mwamuye of the High Court has issued conservatory orders suspending the decision of President William Ruto to establish the multi-agency team to fight corruption.
The case will be mentioned on September 9, this year. However, the respective parties are at liberty to petition the court to make adjustments to the date.
Less than a day after President William Ruto announced the formation of a multi-agency team to fight corruption, including the National Intelligence Service, the Central Bank of Kenya, and other state bodies, a petition has been filed challenging the decision.
Dr Magare Gikenyi, a surgeon based in Nakuru, together with three other petitioners, has taken legal action against Ruto's recent decision, arguing that the Head of State acted outside his constitutional mandate in establishing the new body.
In documents filed with the High Court in Nairobi, Dr Gikenyi and the other petitioners — Eliud Karanja Matindi, Philemon Abuga Nyakundi and Dishon Keroti Mogire - are seeking an order declaring the Presidential Multi-Agency Team on the War Against Corruption (MAT-WAC) unlawful, irregular and unconstitutional.
The four argue that President Ruto's proclamation on August 18, 2025 lacks constitutional and legal foundation.
They insist that the Constitution does not grant the President authority to create an anti-corruption agency, a function they say is exclusively reserved for independent institutions.
According to the petitioners, Article 132(4) of the Constitution only allows the President to perform executive functions explicitly provided for in law and, where necessary, establish an office in the public service, but only with the recommendation of the Public Service Commission.
“The so-called powers are just imaginary hot-air mirage powers which do not exist in our progressive Constitution,” the petitioners claim in their filing, adding that the President cannot usurp the role of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) as provided for under Article 79 of the Constitution and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act of 2011.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Ruto revealed that the Multi-Agency Team on War Against Graft (MAT) had been created to foster synergy and strengthen inter-agency cooperation in tackling graft, economic crimes, and related offences.
He also announced that the team will be chaired by the Executive Office of the President, with the Office of the Attorney General serving as the head of the Secretariat.
Other key institutions represented apart from NIS include the Ethics and Anti-Graft Commission (EACC), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Meanwhile, the petitioners further argue that the decision to have the team domiciled within the Executive Office of the President undermines the independence of oversight bodies.
They claim that recent reports by the Auditor General have implicated the Presidency in corruption-related matters, including the Ksh104 billion SHA system procurement and the e-Citizen convenience fee saga.
They argue that by placing the new body under his office, President Ruto is effectively shielding himself and his administration from scrutiny by constitutionally independent commissions such as the EACC.
The petitioners are therefore urging the court to issue urgent conservatory orders halting the implementation of the executive order that birthed MAT-WAC, pending the determination of the matter.
Blow to Ruto as Court Blocks His New Team News Just In
