Senior Officials Face Contempt Charges over Alleged Defiance of Riruta-Ngong Rail Court Orders

Senior government officials and executives from state agencies have been accused of deliberately disobeying High Court orders that halted the Riruta-Ngong Commuter Metre Gauge Railway Project. A contempt of court application has been filed by Naomi Misati, who claims the officials ignored interim conservatory orders issued on January 20, 2026.

The orders, issued by the High Court, stopped all construction, financing, and implementation of the rail project along the Riruta-Ngong corridor. This included any works within Ngong Forest and along the Lenana Exchange route. The court also prohibited the allocation or disbursement of funds for the project from the Railway Development Fund or the Consolidated Fund without prior parliamentary approval.

The interim orders were issued in the presence of advocates representing key respondents. They were served electronically and physically on January 20 and January 21, 2026, with all parties acknowledging receipt.

Despite the clear directives, construction works reportedly resumed on January 22, 2026, and continued on January 24 and January 25, 2026. Misati's advocates issued a cease-and-desist letter on January 23, 2026, warning of the breach, but the letter was ignored.

The contempt application alleges that the resumption of works and other activities deliberately changed the situation on the ground. This risks undermining the main petition challenging the project as well as any pending applications before the court. Misati has argued that without urgent court intervention, the project could advance to a stage where the court would have no effective remedy even if it later rules in her favor.

Those named in the contempt proceedings include Philip Mainga, Managing Director of Kenya Railways; Mercy Wanjau, Secretary to the Cabinet; Chris Kiptoo, Principal Secretary in the National Treasury; Mohamed Daghar, Principal Secretary in the Transport ministry; Dorcas Oduor, Attorney General; Samuel Njoroge, Clerk of the National Assembly; and Xiaodong Yu, General Manager of China Road and Bridge Corporation. A director of one of the corporate respondents is also cited.

The petitioner is seeking urgent certification of the matter. She wants the named officials to personally appear in court to explain why they should not be cited and punished for contempt. The application further requests warrants of arrest and committal to civil jail for up to six months for any officials who fail to attend or persist in disobeying the orders.

The High Court has directed that the contempt application be served on all respondents. The matter is scheduled for mention on February 9, 2026.