A day after Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho was sentenced to a three-month jail term, Attorney General Githu Muigai has moved to court seeking to block the imprisonment of the government officer.
Muigai has now filed a notice at the Milimani Law Courts stating that his office was not satisfied with the judgement delivered by Justice George Odunga.
"The AG wishes to appeal against the court's decision to jail the PS pending hearing and determination of the appeal to be filed at the Court of Appeal," the AG stated in the court papers.
Odunga, in a court ruling delivered on Tuesday, stated that Kibicho was guilty of failing to appear in court to show cause why he should not be punished for failing to comply with a court order to pay Michael Danson Mahugu, a former Nyayo House torture victim, Sh2.6 Million.
The judge further stated that the PS had refused to show up in court despite numerous requests prompting an arrest warrant to be issued for his appearance.
Nonetheless, implementing the arrest seemed to be a challenge for the Inspector General of Police (IG) given Kibicho’s high rank in the security hierarchy.
Legal experts have warned that failure to implement the court order could result in IG Joseph Boinett being jailed for contempt of court.
"The court order is bigger that the judge who issued it or the person it is directed to. The IG has no option but to arrest Mr Kibicho, failure to which he too should be cited for contempt and be jailed," opined Law Society of Kenya council member, Edwin Sifuna.
