The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss, George Kinoti, has been spared a four-month jail term, in a ruling delivered today, December 15, 2021, by a three-judge bench Court of Appeal ruling, led by Justice Fatuma Sichale, granting orders to temporarily bar the arrest and subsequent jailing of the DCI boss.

The decision comes after Attorney General Paul Kihara Kariuki filed an appeal challenging the decision of the High Court to commit Kinoti to civil jail over contempt of court. This comes after the AG informed the appellate court that Justice Antony Mrima errored in law by committing Kinoti to jail without being heard. Through lawyers Cecil Miller and Wilfred Nyamu, the AG argued that the DCI does not keep or store civilian firearms.

DCI Kinoti had asked the court to issue a stay order on the warrant of arrest and from the continued harassment that he was subjected to by businessman Jimi Wanjigi and his wife, Nzisa Wanjigi. He stated that he was fearful that the harassment would not stop unless the court intervened in his case. The High Court Judge, Anthony Mrima, dismissed the appeal stating that there was no new or compelling evidence to allow the application.