A criminal trial involving several defendants, including senior banking executives, was suspended in Nairobi on Monday after the court learned that multiple High Court orders had been issued staying proceedings and restraining arrests.
The matter came up for mention before the trial court, which was informed that summonses had been issued to the second through seventh accused persons and that all had been duly served. However, counsel for the second and third accused told the court that conservatory orders obtained from the High Court on Friday had halted the trial. Those orders also barred the arrest of the two defendants and prohibited the trial court from taking their pleas pending the hearing and determination of their applications before the High Court. The defense stated the orders had been served, and the second and third accused did not appear in court.
Additional orders were disclosed for other defendants. Counsel said the third and fourth accused had separately secured High Court orders restraining their arrest, detention, or the continuation of proceedings against them, while also staying the operation of the summonses issued to them. For the sixth and seventh accused, the High Court was said to have issued orders staying any further proceedings in the trial court or any related matters.
The defense maintained that all orders had been properly served and argued that the trial proceedings were effectively stayed. State counsel Momanyi, however, told the court that the prosecution had not yet received the orders allegedly issued for the third, fourth, sixth, and seventh accused. He said the prosecution had only received orders relating to Paul Russo and KCB Bank, and had requested defense lawyers to serve the remaining documents to enable verification of their authenticity and scope.
The prosecution urged the court to set the matter for mention on Wednesday to confirm service of the outstanding orders and allow all parties to verify the documents placed before the court. The trial court is expected to review the status of the High Court orders and issue directions on the way forward, including whether proceedings will remain suspended pending the outcome of the constitutional applications.
