The High Court has granted Nyandarua Governor Moses Kiarie Badilisha anticipatory bail of Sh 50,000 after moving to court over what he claims as pursuit by unknown persons.
Justice Cecilia Githua also barred the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the National Police Service (NPS) from either arresting or detaining him pending the hearing of the case.
“The applicant is granted anticipatory bail for Sh 50,000, which shall be deposited in court. Pending the mention date, the second and third respondents or any officer acting under their authority are hereby restrained from arresting or detaining the applicant in any police station,” ruled Justice Githua.
The now ex-Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s ally decamped from the ruling party, United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party to the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP).
In court, he recounted that his tribulations started on August 14,2026 when he allegedly learnt from his caretaker that officers suspected to be from the DCI had allegedly camped at his home in Ol Kalou.
He stated that the officers had in their mind the infamous "kamata kamata" Friday in their minds, as no courts sit on weekends.
Nevertheless, the governor argued that he was unaware of what he was being pursued for as he had neither previously been summoned or requried to write statements.
Badilisha further said that despite the persons being informed that he was not at home, they camped there in the hope that he would show up for an arrest.
“The said officers remained stationed around my residence, in an attempt to lay an ambush. On Saturday, August 15, 2026, and Sunday, August 16, 2026, both dates inclusive, the said officers heightened their surveillance by trailing my official vehicles in an attempt to arrest me. During this time, I learned from third parties that the officers were intercepting my official vehicles and inspecting them to establish the identities of the occupants in a bid to arrest me,” he told the court.
The governor claimed that he was apprehensive that his pursuers had already obtained a green light to charge him in court from the Director of Public Prosecutions ( DPP).
However, the governor added that the DPP ought to first weigh the evidence presented by the police or DCI, be it incriminating or absolving him, before deciding to charge him or not. In his case, he argued, the persons who are after him have allegedly jumped the gun.
He insisted that he had done nothing wrong, adding that this would be in violation of his right to be presumed innocent and to give his side of the story before anything is done.
“I have been advised by my learned counsel on record, who I verily believe to be true, that the said officers seek to arrest me without due regard to procedural safeguards, and in violation of Section 35 of the National Police Service Act and/or Section 11(1)(d) of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act, as the case may be.”
“Both the National Police Service Act and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act require investigating officers from either the 2nd or 3rd respondent to record my statement under inquiry, complete investigations, and obtain consent from the 4th respondent on the decision to charge before making any arrest,” argued Badilisha.
The governor wants the court to bar the DCI and the police from arresting or detaining him until the case is heard and determined.
Badilisha said he was willing to abide by the conditions set by the court, adding that he had neither been summoned nor required to write a statement.
“The 2nd and/or 3rd respondents' conduct of pursuing the applicant to arrest and detain him, instead of summoning the applicant to appear at their offices, has the purpose and effect of arbitrarily depriving the Applicant of his right to freedom and security, contrary to Article 29(a) of the Constitution,” he argued.
