Court told Nairobi CEC Kerich is on 'official duty' abroad despite conviction for contempt

Controversy is surrounding the fate of Nairobi Finance CEC Charles Kerich after conflicting accounts emerged before the High Court on Monday over his whereabouts and employment status.

When the matter came up before Justice Patricia Nyaundi at the Constitutional and Human Rights Division on June 15, 2026, Kerich’s lawyer, Duncan Okatch, said that his client was not on the run as widely reported, but was away on an official trip and was on working leave.

“My client has been abroad on an official visit. We will request 21 days when he will have come back and be able to sign documents for filing in court,” Okatch told the court.

The lawyer further maintained that Kerich was not evading justice but was instead on “official duty”, a disclosure that immediately deepened uncertainty over his legal and administrative status at City Hall.

What makes the lawyer’s claim that Kerich is on official duty more contentious is that it comes just days after Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja issued a statement indicating that Kerich had already been suspended from his position as Finance CEC following his contempt sentence and replaced in an acting capacity.

“Hon Ibrahim Auma Nyangoya shall act in the capacity of County Executive Committee Member for Finance and Economic Planning effective immediately,” the governor stated in the official communication dated June 5, 2026 filed in court.

The development comes against the backdrop of an earlier court order issued on May 19, 2026, when Justice Francis Gikonyo sentenced Kerich to three months in civil jail for contempt of court after he failed to comply with orders to remit Sh 106,736,841.83 to Kwengu & Company Advocates.

Despite the committal order, Kerich has not been arrested or surrendered himself to serve the sentence.

However, court documents now appear to contradict the defence narrative.

Kerich's own affidavit filed in the contempt case filed city businesman Bryan Yongo shows he was cleared to travel to Boston, United States, from May 25 to June 12, 2026, days after the jail sentence was issued.

Further complicating the matter, advocate Appel Kwengu, in a replying affidavit sworn on June 14, 2026, alleged that the affidavit Kerich filed on June 11, 2026, purportedly sworn before a commissioner for oaths in Nairobi, was a forgery, since Kerich was physically in the United States on that date.

“It was therefore physically impossible for the 1st Contemnor( Kerich) to have appeared before the said Commissioner for Oaths at Nairobi on June 11, 2026 to swear the said affidavit, and it is evident that the said affidavit is false, improperly commissioned and/or a forgery, and a nullity incapable of supporting the application,” Kwengu's affidavit states.

The allegations have now raised questions over the authenticity of court filings and the credibility of Kerich’s defence.

Meanwhile, petitioner Yongo, who is suing in person, told the court Kerich cannot continue performing any official duties by virtue of his sentence.

He has urged the court to find that Kerich is unfit to hold public office due to the contempt conviction.

“Kerich cannot continue to do any duties due to his sentence,” he told the court.

Yongo also pointed to subsequent administrative actions at City Hall, noting that Governor Sakaja had suspended Kerich and appointed Hon. Nyangoya to act as Finance CEC effective June 5, 2026.

However, he argued that the suspension did not amount to removal from office.

“The suspension does not cure the constitutional violations already crystallised by the unappealed contempt finding, and does not amount to removal from office,” Yongo states in court papers.

Advocate Bwire, appearing or Attonery General in the matter, informed the court he had not been served with some of the pleadings in the case and sought 21 days to respond.

Justice Nyaundi directed that all respondents be served by the close of business on June 15, with responses to be filed within 14 days.

At the centre of the petition by Yongo is a request for declarations that Kerich is unfit to hold State office under Chapter Six of the Constitution and compelling the Governor or the County Assembly to initiate his formal removal.

The matter will be mentioned again on July 7, 2026, for further directions.