The High Court has ordered the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to pay Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya Sh2.5 million for the way he was arrested and subsequently charged last year.
In a ruling at the Milimani High Court, which was made by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, The court also found that the details of the governor’s mobile money were acquired in an unlawful and irregular manner
The judge found that the action by the EACC barred the governor from accessing his advocates at the time of arrest on May 20, 2025, and that this action breached the governor’s rights. The judge also questioned the legality of the way the governor’s mobile money account details were acquired and found it unlawful and irregular.
For this reason, the EACC and the ODPP were barred from proceeding with the case against the governor based on the same facts.
The governor had filed a petition at the Milimani High Court in June 2025 challenging the legality of the arrest and prosecution. The case was temporarily suspended as the petition hearing proceeded.
The EACC had been investigating the alleged embezzlement of Sh1.4 billion from Trans Nzoia County funds, focusing on three projects: the rehabilitation of Kenyatta Stadium, the construction of the county headquarters, and the construction at Tom Mboya Hospital.
The ODPP approved the charges following the investigations and found the governor guilty of conflict of interest, financial impropriety, and abuse of office.
The arrest of the governor on May 19, 2025, occurred when EACC detectives raided the governor’s home in Kitale, Trans Nzoia County, and this attracted a crowd of supporters who caused chaos as the EACC detectives tried to arrest the governor.The EACC detectives claimed that the governor’s supporters damaged government vehicles..
In the final ruling, the EACC and the ODPP were ordered to pay the governor Sh2.5 million as compensation for the way he was arrested and subsequently charged.
