The High Court has ordered former Nairobi County Finance Executive Charles Kerich to appear in person on December 7, 2026, at 2.30pm over the county’s failure to clear a Sh76.7 million legal fees bill owed to Kwengu & Company Advocates.
In directions issued on Thursday, October 29, 2026, Justice Francis Gikonyo also gave Governor Johnson Sakaja, Finance County Executive Ibrahim Auma Nyangoya and Chief Officer for Finance Asha Abdi 14 days to respond to applications seeking to have them cited for contempt of court over the unpaid sum.
Kerich has asked the court to remove him from the contempt proceedings, saying he no longer runs the county’s finances. In an application filed on October 28, he says he left the finance docket in July 2026 and no longer has the power to approve payments from county accounts.
He wants the court to rule that the duty to make the payments now lies with the current office holder, not him. The law firm has opposed the application, describing it as “premature, defective and legally incompetent”.
In its grounds of opposition, the firm also argues that the application is “misconceived, frivolous and vexatious” and should be dismissed as an abuse of the court process.
The dispute goes back to an order issued by Justice Alfred Mabeya on November 27, 2024. The order directed the Nairobi County Government to pay the law firm Sh106.7 million from money owed to Foton East Africa Limited.
Kerich was later found guilty of contempt for failing to comply, and on May 19, 2026, he was sentenced to three months in prison. The parties then reached a settlement, which the court adopted on July 16, 2026.
Under the settlement, the county was to pay Sh30 million immediately, Sh36.7 million by October 15 and Sh40 million by December 15. The jail term was suspended on condition that the payments were made as agreed.
The advocates say only the first instalment was paid, leaving Sh76,736,841 outstanding. Under the terms of the settlement, a missed payment means the stay on enforcement lapses, allowing the firm to take steps to recover the money.
The firm has asked the court to declare that the agreement was breached, to extend the contempt proceedings to other county officials and to compel the county to pay the balance. The case will be mentioned again on December 7, 2026.
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