Court freezes Manzil Towers collapse charges against three officials pending review
Key points
- Justice Nabil Mokaya Orina stayed arrests/prosecution over Manzil Towers C (South C) pending judicial review.
- Applicants named: Patrick Analo Akivaga, David Kibui Kigathi and a third official.
- Alleged offences: abuse of office (ss. 101(1), 102A) for two; neglect of official duty (s. 128/36) for the third.
- Charge sheet dated 14 July 2026 paused; JR papers in 7 days; responses 21 days; mention 16 September 2026.
The High Court has hit pause on a high-profile South C collapse file: Justice Dr Nabil Mokaya Orina ordered that leave to seek judicial review will operate as a stay of the 14 July 2026 charge sheet against three people linked to the Manzil Towers C disaster, Eastleigh Voice reported.
Named applicants include Patrick Analo Akivaga and David Kibui Kigathi, facing abuse-of-office counts under sections 101(1) and 102A of the Penal Code, and a third applicant charged with neglect of official duty under section 128 read with section 36. Until the review is decided, the DCI may not arrest, charge or continue criminal process on that sheet against them.
What the court still wants on paper
Applicants must file and serve the substantive judicial review application within seven days. Respondents get 21 days to reply; applicants may file supplementary affidavits within seven days of those replies. The matter returns on 16 September 2026 for compliance and hearing directions. That calendar is the public’s best proxy for whether the freeze is a brief procedural shelter or a long freeze on accountability optics.
A stay is not an acquittal. Families of victims and county engineers will still demand structural and procurement answers even while criminal process sits in the judicial-review lane.
How to read the next filings
Watch whether the DCI amends the theory of case, whether Nairobi County files as interested party, and whether parallel manslaughter tracks against other ex-officials continue. Crime desk: Crime.
Residents’ associations in South C can press for published inspection reports independent of the charge sheet. Professional boards should say whether licensing reviews for the tower’s professionals remain active. Court orders control liberty; engineering reports control whether the next building is safer.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of Justice Orina’s orders. The court file and charge sheets control party names and counts.
