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Nairobi County executive Charles Kerich is facing imminent arrest and imprisonment after missing a Sh36.7 million payment deadline in a Sh106.7 million legal fees dispute, reviving a three-month jail sentence he escaped through a court-approved settlement in July.
In a fresh twist to the legal battle, lawyers for Kwengu & Company Advocates have written to Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja demanding that police prepare to arrest Kerich and take him to prison after the October 15 deadline passed without the required payment.
The letter seen by The Standard warns that the reprieve Kerich secured in July has run out following his failure to honour the instalment agreement.
Under the consent adopted by the High Court, the suspension of the committal order was conditional on full compliance with the payment schedule.
The lawyers say the default triggers the automatic lapse of the stay, allowing them to pursue Kerich’s imprisonment and recovery of the outstanding debt.
“Should the payment not be received, the stay will lapse automatically by operation of clause 7, no further order of the Court being required for that purpose, and the Contemnor will stand liable to be committed to prison in terms of the order of May 19 2026,” the letter states.
The lawyers have asked the Inspector-General to instruct the Officer Commanding Central Police Station, Nairobi, to execute the committal order once they formally confirm that the stay has lapsed.
The looming arrest comes barely three months after Kerich escaped a three-month jail term by agreeing to pay the law firm Sh106,736,841.83, money the county had been ordered to remit in a dispute involving Foton East Africa Limited.
Under the settlement signed on July 8, Kerich made an initial payment of Sh30 million, leaving Sh76,736,841.83 outstanding.
The agreement required him to pay a second instalment of Sh36,736,841 by October 15, followed by a final Sh40 million by December 15.
With the October deadline now missed, the lawyers are demanding enforcement of the original committal order, placing Kerich’s freedom in jeopardy once the lapse of the stay is formally confirmed.
The dispute stems from court orders compelling Nairobi County to pay the city law firm Kwengu & Company Advocates legal fees amounting to Sh106.7 million.
Justice Francis Gikonyo found Kerich guilty of contempt on October 9, 2025, after determining that orders requiring payment had not been obeyed.
On May 19, 2026, the judge sentenced him to three months in prison and directed that the committal order be executed by the Officer Commanding Central Police Station.
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Kerich subsequently secured a reprieve after the parties negotiated a payment arrangement, which was adopted by the court on July 16.
In lifting the committal order, Justice Gikonyo said: “The court is satisfied that he has demonstrated remorse and willingness to comply with its orders.”
But the reprieve was tied to the settlement terms, and the missed instalment has now reopened the prospect of imprisonment.
The latest development also casts fresh attention on Kerich’s return to City Hall.
Days after the court lifted the committal order, he was seen attending a County Executive Committee meeting chaired by Governor Johnson Sakaja on July 21.
The meeting marked his return to the county executive forum after months of legal battles over the debt.
In the letter, the lawyers have made clear that they will not grant further indulgence, warning that the matter will be placed before the court when it comes up on October 29.
The letter states that their client “grants no extension of time and no further indulgence”.