The High Court has extended orders barring the Ethics and Anti-Graft Commission (EACC) and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from apprehending or prosecuting Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi over graft allegations.
The court shielded Wamatangi until October 8, 2025, directing the governor to file his written submission within seven days.
This means that the governor will not be apprehended or charged with the ongoing investigations into allegations of graft within his government until the court delivers its final ruling in October.
The matter will, however, return to court on October 8, where the judges will make a final decision whether to lift the suspension or allow the legal process to continue.
The court hearing on Thursday, September 18, followed a July conservatory order that temporarily barred the governor from being apprehended or charged.
On July 24, Justice Chacha Mwita ruled that ODPP and EACC should not apprehend or charge the governor pending the determination of the petition, setting the ruling date for September 18.
“A conservatory order is hereby issued by refraining respondents from apprehending and charging the petitioners based on the investigations undertaken in this matter until September 18, 2025,” the judge said in the ruling.
The new ruling will then allow the governor to continue with his duties during this period until the court makes a final ruling.
The anti-graft agency raided the governor's home and offices on April 15, over the embezzlement of public funds and conflict of interest allegations.
During the apprehension, nine other senior county officials were nabbed after their premises were searched, where they were accused of mismanagement of public funds in the county.
The officials during the questioning dismissed all the allegations, stating that the apprehension was part of a political campaign to undermine Wamatangi's administration.
Wamatangi also added that the raid was political intimidation and he won't be silenced or distracted from running county projects.
