At least five top officials in President William Ruto’s administration, including Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, are facing contempt of court proceedings over alleged defiance of court orders and failure to comply with rulings on settlement of financial awards issued against the government.
Others include Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, Principal Secretaries Patrick Mariru (Defence), Raymond Omollo (Interior), and Festus Ng’eno (Environment, Climate Change and Forestry), among others.
At the parastatal level, the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) managing director Philip Mainga last month was found guilty of contempt over delayed payment of Sh45.5 million to a property owner in Nakuru but escaped punishment after agreeing to pay Sh10 million quarterly.
He had been found by a court of contempt for failing to pay Ms Monica Macharia the amount following the demolition of her property in October 2020.
In the case of Attorney General Oduor, the case involves alleged failure to advise the Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Public Works to pay Mr George Owino damages of Sh1.9 million awarded 32 years ago.
Recently, Justice Alice Chepngetich Bett directed the AG to explain why contempt of court proceedings should not be commenced against her for failure to comply with the orders of the court.
The judge, sitting at the High Court in Kakamega, ordered for a show-cause notice to be served upon the AG calling on her to attend court on June 12, 2025, to offer the explanation.
According to the judge, the AG having been sued on behalf of the government she is obliged to advise her client to pay any costs and liabilities that arise out of her representation.
The judge noted that on October 24, 2022, Justice William Musyoka ordered the accounting officer in the office of the Attorney General to release to Mr Owino the sums of money.
The delay prompted Mr Owino to file an application seeking the court’s authority to initiate contempt proceedings against the Attorney General, whom he claimed had disobeyed the court orders and failed to pay the said sum. Justice Bett in a ruling dated April 4, 2025, allowed the application.
“The applicant has attached a copy of the email address serving the office of the Attorney General with the court order dated November 29, 2022. It is evident that the office of the Attorney General was aware of the matter from the beginning and has, on several occasions, filed pleadings and submissions to rebut the applicant’s claim but had not taken any steps to advise the Principal Secretary to settle the decretal sum owed to the applicant despite the several orders issued by the court compelling them to pay,” said Justice Bett.
The AG had opposed the application describing it as defective because the Attorney-General was not the accounting officer of the Attorney General's office nor the Ministry of Public Works.
She also argued that the application lacked merit since it was filed under the Contempt of Court Act, 2016, which had been declared unconstitutional in 2018.
In addition, she said that it was unconstitutional for a public officer to be sentenced to imprisonment for a public debt.
The court was further told that the Attorney General is the Principal Legal Advisor of the Government and, as such, cannot be cited for contempt.
The initial sum was Sh237,438 awarded on March 1, 1993, but has increased due to accrued interest.
In the case of Mr Kanja, contempt proceedings have been initiated by former Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Justin Muturi over alleged disobedience of a court order to reinstate his security detail.
Mr Muturi says by virtue of the Retirement Benefits (Deputy Presidents & Designated State Officers Act he is entitled to two armed security guards because he is also a former Speaker of the National Assembly.
However, he says following his removal from the Cabinet by President William Ruto last month the security detail was withdrawn exposing him to security risks.
He sought court’s intervention and Justice Chacha Mwita ordered reinstatement of the security, pending the hearing of the case.
On April 17 his lawyers, Isaac W. & Associates, wrote to Mr Kanja demanding compliance with the court orders but the IG still failed to restore the security, triggering Mr Muturi to initiate the contempt proceedings yesterday.
“It is the unqualified duty of every person against whom an order is issued to comply with the order, hence there is no good reason why Mr Kanja is yet to restore my security, as per the court order. Wilful disobedience of a court order amounts to disrespect of the authority of the court and is punishable,” he says while pushing for punishment of Mr Kanja.
For Principal Secretaries the contempt proceedings involve nonpayment of financial awards issued to various litigants many years ago before their appointments.
Principal Secretary, Department of Defence, Dr Patrick Mariru is battling at least two cases of contempt involving non-settlement of Sh203 million owed to 20 former military officers as damages for torture by the government after the attempted 1982 coup.
PS Mariru is accused of disobeying the court orders issued more than five years ago on July 25, 2018 directing the Ministry to pay the damages. In that case the compensation award was Sh68.8 million awarded to ten ex-soldiers on February 15, 2012.
In the second case, he is accused of disobeying an order to pay another group of ten former Kenya Air force officers an outstanding claim of Sh134.7 million. They were awarded the damages by the High Court in 2013 and later in 2018 obtained orders compelling the Defence Ministry to effect the payments.
The two cases are before Justice John Chigiti, who cited the PS in contempt for disobeying and defying the judgments, decrees and the court orders.
The judge subsequently summoned the PS to personally appear before the court for mitigation and sentencing. He is expected to appear in court on May 11 and June 23, 2025.
Judge Chigiti rejected an explanation that the failure to pay the ex-soldiers has been occasioned by the financial austerity measures which are circumstances beyond his control.
"This court appreciates the fact that payments by Government Ministries and Agencies rely on yearly budgetary allocations which are approved by the National Assembly. However, there must be a time when the allocations to decree holders are reached in the allocation cycles. This must not be after seven years. This court is of the view that this amounts to a refusal to comply with the court order," said the judge.
For Interior PS Dr Raymond Omollo, the case involves delayed payment of a Sh1.5 million compensation award owed to a litigant named Robert Ndichu. The award was through a judgment issued in 2012.
Justice Chigiti ordered the PS together with the AG to appear in court for mitigation and sentencing on June 23, 2025.
Recently, another court saved PS Omollo from having a warrant of arrest issued against him after being cited in contempt. The court declined a request to order the PS to explain why the warrant should not be issued against him.
The application was on the basis of an earlier ruling rendered in June 2024 citing the PS in contempt of a court order.
Justice Jairus Ngaah struck out the application after finding that the PS had not been furnished with summons to appear in court.
The PS was cited in contempt on June 6, 2024 by Justice Olga Sewe. He was subsequently summoned to attend court for mitigation on why he would not be punished for failing to comply with a decree requiring his Ministry to pay Mr Wilson Ayuke a sum of Sh830,567.
The decree order was issued on March 13, 2018. Mr Ayuke was awarded the amount following a case filed at a magistrate court in Voi against the government in 1998.
For PS Ng’eno, the contempt case involves payment of Sh724,700 being general and special damages arising from the fatal injuries suffered by Emily Achieng Ogalo, whose estate is being represented in court by Yona Wagala and Tobias Omondi.
The claim arose out of a fatal shooting in January 2005 at Sarang’ombe Village in Kibera, Nairobi when Forest Guards attached to the Ngong Forest in the course of their duties shot at her in what was described as a stray bullet.
The representatives of her estate have been inside the court corridors for the past 19 years waiting for justice and they are still counting on it. A judgment was rendered in their favour in April 2013.
On March 26, 2025, Justice Roseline Aburili allowed them to commence contempt proceedings against the PS over non-payment of the award and fixed the case for mention on May 21, 2025.
At the Ministry of Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, a litigant named Elias Mutwiri received the court’s nod to initiate contempt proceedings against the PS over the delayed payment of Sh21.3 million awarded in 2019.
The award emerged from a road traffic accident in January 2017 involving motorcycle and a government motor vehicle belonging to the Ministry.
