lowereas
The High Court in Nairobi has quashed the criminal charges against Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya, delivering a scathing judgment that faulted investigators for unconstitutional conduct during his arrest and subsequent investigations.
In a ruling delivered at the Milimani Law Courts, Justice Bahati Mwamuye found that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) violated the governor’s constitutional rights by denying him access to his lawyers at the time of his arrest on May 20, 2025. The court held that the move infringed on his right to legal representation and undermined guarantees of a fair trial as enshrined in the Constitution.
Justice Mwamuye further ruled that the manner in which investigators obtained the governor’s M-Pesa statements was illegal and procedurally flawed. According to the judgment, the process used to access his financial records failed to meet both constitutional and statutory thresholds, rendering the evidence improperly acquired.
The court also declared that the institution of the anti-corruption criminal case amounted to an abuse of the court process. As a result, it barred both the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) from continuing with the prosecution based on the same set of facts.
The charges were subsequently quashed, effectively bringing the criminal proceedings against the governor to an end.
In addition to terminating the case, the court awarded Natembeya Sh2.5 million in general damages for the violation of his constitutional rights.
The judgment marks a significant development in the intersection between anti-corruption enforcement and constitutional safeguards, underscoring the judiciary’s role in checking investigative excesses and upholding due process.
ENDS///…
