The High Court has temporarily barred the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from prosecuting a former officer in the Nairobi County Urban Planning and Technical Committee over the collapse of Manzil Towers in South C, which killed two people earlier this year.
Justice Nabil Mokaya Orina stayed the DPP's decision to charge Patrick Analo with abuse of office alongside the owners of the building, who are facing manslaughter charges.
The judge also suspended the prosecution of David Kibui Kigathi, another county official charged in connection with the collapse.
Bundles of cash were recovered by detectives during a search at the Syokimau residence of Nairobi County Chief Officer for Urban Planning Patrick Analo. Investigators say Sh65.3 million was seized during the operation. Analo was later taken to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) headquarters for questioning.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Justice Orina certified the application filed by lawyers Danstan Omari and Martina Swiga as urgent, saying it raises substantial questions of law.
“Having heard the application by Mr Omari, I hereby grant leave to Mr Analo and David Kibui Kigathi to apply for orders seeking to quash the decision by the DPP to charge them with abuse of office arising from the collapse of Manzil Towers in South C, Nairobi,” the judge ruled.
He further barred the DPP and any law enforcement agency acting on his instructions from arresting, charging, prosecuting or continuing criminal proceedings against Analo and Kigathi pending determination of the judicial review application.
The court directed that the leave granted operate as a stay of the criminal proceedings against the two applicants.
Justice Orina ordered the applicants to file the substantive judicial review application within seven days and fixed the matter for mention on September 16, 2026, for further directions.
“That leave granted herein shall operate as a stay of the decision by the DPP contained in the charge sheet dated July 14, 2026, and of any arrest, arraignment, charging, prosecution or further criminal proceedings against the applicants pending the hearing and determination of the substantive judicial review application,” the judge directed.
Mr Kigathi is accused of failing to stop the construction of the building while serving as a Nairobi County official.
When the criminal case came up before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Carolyne Murage for directions, Mr Omari presented the High Court order suspending the prosecution of the two officials.
Nairobi County Chief Officer for Urban Planning Patrick Analo (left) is escorted by investigators from his Syokimau residence following his arrest by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) detectives.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
A State prosecutor confirmed that the DPP's office had been served with the orders staying the proceedings against Analo and Kigathi.
The other accused persons are Manzil Towers owners Abdishakur Muse Mohammed and Yussuf Mohammed Yussuf, engineer Daniel Alphonse Odhiambo and Gedion Chege Gakundi alias Gideon Chege Mwangi.
The four have been charged with manslaughter over the deaths of Ali Adan Galgalo Abdi and Hassan Huka, who died when the building collapsed on January 2, 2026, in South C, Lang'ata Sub-county.
According to the prosecution, the four unlawfully caused the deaths through the construction and management of the building.
The prosecution alleges they forged a notification approving Application No. PLUPA-BPM-002115-N for change of user, purportedly issued on March 23, 2023, before fraudulently uploading the document to the National Construction Authority (NCA) online projects registration portal.
They are also accused of forging a geotechnical investigation report dated February 24, 2021, and later presenting it to the NCA on November 4, 2023.
The two further denied forging a Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services certificate of registration for the construction site, as well as an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licence, Registration No. 6927232, dated March 17, 2023.
The prosecution further alleges they presented the purported EIA licence to the NCA while falsely claiming it had been issued by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
All four accused are also charged with commencing construction of Manzil Towers on LR No. 209/5909/10 (Nairobi Block 68/1306) in February 2024 without a valid Environmental Impact Assessment licence.
They have denied all the charges and were each released on a bond of Sh5 million, with one surety of a similar amount.
The criminal case will be mentioned on August 6, 2026, for further directions.
