Court Declines to Lift Gag against Waiguru on NYS Scam

The High Court has declined to grant former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru permission to make public comments on National Youth Service (NYS) scam in which she has been adversely mentioned, until the appeal she filed is heard and determined.

The High Court sitting in Nairobi on Wednesday refused to lift gag orders issued by the magistrate's court directing the Kirinyaga gubernatorial aspirant from speaking about the matter in public.

Justice Richard Mwongo, while making the ruling, said that if he was to grant the former Cabinet Secretary the wish, he would have determined the case even before it's heard.

"This court is inclined to agree that granting the orders under the application will amount to determining the appeal," the judge ruled Wednesday.

The Jubilee party Kirinyaga gubernatorial candidate in her case wanted the court to grant her permission to publicly speak about the scam, arguing that preventing her from commenting on the Sh 1.6 billion scandal would place her at a crossroads.

"The orders place me between obeying court orders and complying with my civic duty to assist with investigations into the said loss of money," Waiguru said.