A Nairobi court has withdrawn criminal charges against former Social Health Authority (SHA) chief executive Elijah Wachira and co-accused Robert Ingarisa in a case involving the alleged misappropriation of Sh17.59 million belonging to the state health agency.
Principal Magistrate Daisy Mutai approved the prosecution’s application on October 6, 2026, allowing the charges against the two accused persons to be withdrawn under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The court also ordered the release of cash bail deposited on behalf of Wachira and Ingarisa to the respective individuals who paid it. The two had been charged in Nairobi Magistrates’ Court Criminal Case No. E559 of 2025, alongside Arthur Otula, Rosemary Daraja and other suspects facing various criminal charges. The withdrawal does not bring to an end the proceedings against the remaining accused persons, whose cases may continue as directed by the court.
According to the charge sheet, Wachira and Ingarisa were accused of jointly misappropriating Sh17,591,473 allegedly belonging to SHA at the authority’s headquarters in Nairobi on various dates between October 2024 and May 20, 2025. The charge was brought under Section 48(2) of the Social Health Insurance Act.
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Wachira’s lawyers had previously petitioned the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to reconsider the decision to charge him, arguing that he had left SHA on November 12, 2024, before some of the transactions in question allegedly took place.
In a letter to the DPP, Manyonge Wanyama & Associates LLP said its examination of documents provided by the investigating officer had revealed no adverse mention of Wachira in the 2,235 pages of material submitted.
The legal team relied on Article 157(6)(c) of the Constitution and the 2019 Guidelines on the Decision to Charge to ask the prosecution to review its position. The lawyers argued that Wachira should not face criminal liability for transactions allegedly carried out after his departure from the authority.
The court’s October 6 orders formally recorded the withdrawal of the charges against Wachira and Ingarisa under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The ruling concerned the two accused persons and did not indicate that the entire case involving the other suspects had been terminated.
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