11 Charges Against Kenyan Billionaire Jimi Wanjigi Dropped

Kenyan businessman Jimi Wanjigi has been handed a lifeline after the High Court quashed all charges pressed against him at the Nyeri Law court.

Justice Pauline Nyamweya has ruled that the Inspector General of Police and the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) abused the court process and acted in bad faith by preferring charges against Wanjigi away from where the alleged crimes were committed.

The judge further notes that the DPP and IG were motivated by extraneous factors in their decision to charge and summon the business mogul in Nyeri.

In defense, the DPP and the IG argued that their decision to charge Wanjigi in Nyeri was informed by the fact that his rural home is located there.

However, Wanjigi told the court that he had not visited his village in Nyeri for more than a year and questioned why he was not charged in Nairobi, where he lives.

The court has agreed with Wanjigi, noting that the DPP and IG abetted illegality.

“By charging the applicant in Nyeri Chief Magistrate’s Court, they violated the applicant’s legitimate expectation that the respondents would follow the correct legal process as set by the law," rules judge Nyamweya.

“The procedure therefore employed by the first respondent (IG) to serve the applicant with the said summons was not only unwarranted, and the use of excessive force during the process was also an abuse of the due process and of their powers,” Justice Nyamweya adds.

Wanjigi was charged on March 1st, 2018 with 11 counts, including being in possession of seven prohibited firearms.

The guns were seized from his home in Muthaiga, Nairobi following a raid by police.