It is a big relief for a sacked city county planning officer Patrick Analo Akivaga sought for okaying the construction of a killer house in Nairobi's South C after the High Court prohibited his prosecution by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Akivaga was being sort to answer charges of illegally authorising developers embarking on construction of the building which collapsed killing two people.
Akivaga, a former City County Urban Planning and Technical Committee Officer in whose house KES 65 million was recovered by EACC officials, was to be charged with arbitrarily approving the construction of a building in South C Nairobi which collapsed killing two people.
Justice Nabil Mokaya Orina slammed stayed the decision by the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to charge Mr Patrick Analo Akivanga with abuse office alongside the owners of Manzil Towers who have been charged with manslaughter.
Justice Orina certified as urgent the case filed by lawyers Danstan Omari and Martina Swiga saying the applicant’s case raises substantial questions of law.
“Having heard the application by Mr Omari I hereby grant leave to Mr Akivanga and David Kibui Kigathi to apply for orders seeking to quash the decision by the DPP to charge them with offences of abuse of office arising from the collapse of Manzil Towers C in South C Nairobi,”Justice Orina ruled.
The judge further barred any officer acting on the directions of the DPP from arresting, charging, prosecuting, sustaining, proceeding with, hearing, conducting, maintaining with any criminal proceedings against Akivanga and Kigathi.
The judge ordered that the leave (permission) granted do operate as a stay of the criminal proceedings filed against ten suspects.
Lawyers Omari and Swiga were ordered to file the substantive case within seven (7) days and fixed the case for further directions September 16,2026.
DPP has been directed to file responses to the application by Akivanga within 21 days.
“That leave (permission to file substantive suit) granted herein does operate as a stay of the decision by DPP contained in the charge sheet dated July 14,2026, and of any arrest, arraignment, charging, prosecution or further criminal proceedings against the applicants pending hearing and determination of the substantive judicial review application,” directed Justice Orina.
Mr Akivanga challenges the criminal trial claiming his constitutional rights have been infringed.
Kigathi is charged with failing to stop the construction of the building when he was employed by the county government of Nairobi.
When the case came up for directions before Milimani senior principal magistrate Carolyne Murage for directions Mr Omari presented the high court order suspending the prosecution of the two.
A prosecuting counsel confirmed to Ms Mugo that the orders staying the prosection of Akivanga and Kigathi have been served on the office of the DPP.
The owners of Manzil Towers- Abdishakur Muse Mohammed and Yussuf Mohammed Yussuf have been charged alongside Eng Daniel Alphonse Odhiambo and Gedion Chege Gakundi alias Gideon Chege Mwangi with manslaughter.
The four- Abdishakur Muse Mohammed, Yussuf Mohammed Yussuf, Daniel Odhiambo and Gedion Chege Gakundi - were charged with manslaughter.
The court heard that on January 2, 2026 at South C in Lang’ata sub-county the four unlawfully killed Ali Adan Galgalo Abdi and Hassan Huka.
Abdishakur and Yussuf faces other counts of forging a notification of approval of application number PLUPA-BPM-002115-N for permission to carry out change of use.
The alleged application of approval was made on March 23, 2023.
They faced another joint count of fraudulently posting to the National Construction Authority (NCA) Online Projects Registration Sytemo Portal, the fake approval application PLUPA-BPM-002115-N for permission to carry out change of use.
Further DPP states Abdishakur and Yussuf unlawfully forged a Geotechnical Investigations report on February 24,2021.
The sixth charge against the two was that on November 4,2023 at the NCA Offices within Nairobi they presented the fake Geotechnical Investigations report.
On July 11, 2025, the duo denied forging a certificate of registration of a building or a construction site of directorate of occupational safety and health service.
Again Abdishakur and Yussuf were charged with making a fake Environment Impact Assessment License registration number 6927232 dated March 17, 2023.
A nineth charge against the two was that of presenting the Environment Impact Assessment License registration number 6927232 to NCA alleging it had been issued by the National Environment Management Authority (Nema).
All the four were charged with commencing the construction of Manzil Towers on land reference number 209/5909/10 (Nairobi Block 68/1306) without Environment Impact Assessment License in the month of February 2024.
The four have denied the charges against them and were granted a bond of KES 5 million with one surety of similar amount.
The case will be mentioned for further directions August 6, 2026.
