Man seeks to compel EACC to conclude Sh11.3 billion probe against KURA boss

Kura acting Director-General Silas Kinoti

A fresh petition has been filed at the High Court seeking to compel the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC)  to conclude investigations into an alleged Sh11.3 billion corruption scandal involving the Director General of the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA).

In a certificate of urgency filed before the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Division in Nairobi, Dr Joshua Charles Omondi argues that the commission’s failure to complete investigations against senior KURA official Silas Murira Kinoti amounts to a constitutional violation and could allow him to evade accountability ahead of his retirement.

Omondi claims that despite securing search warrants in June 2025 and launching investigations into Kinoti, the anti-graft agency has failed to make meaningful progress or disclose its findings.

“Kinoti has effectively ‘buried’ the file. No inventory has been filed in Court as ordered, and the judicial portal remains static since 16th June 2025,” he states.

The petition names the EACC as the first respondent, Kinoti as the second respondent and the Office of the Attorney General as the third respondent.

Omondi is seeking several court orders, including mandamus to compel the commission to complete investigations and forward its findings to the Director of Public Prosecutions, certiorari to quash any decision to stall or “archive” the probe, and prohibition orders barring Kinoti from accessing public funds or retirement benefits until investigations are concluded.

In his filings, Omondi alleges the case involves suspected embezzlement of Sh11.3 billion and personal kickbacks amounting to Sh27.7 million linked to Kinoti.

The applicant warns that delays in concluding investigations could allow the suspect to evade accountability, especially as his tenure is expected to end this year.

“There is a grave risk that Kinoti will exit office, receive his retirement benefits, and possibly leave the jurisdiction before the EACC ‘wakes up’ from its administrative slumber,” he states.

The application is anchored on the alleged failure by the EACC to comply with court orders issued on June 3, 2025, in Milimani Anti-Corruption Miscellaneous Application No. E810 of 2025.

The orders required agency officers to file an inventory detailing items recovered during searches conducted at various premises linked to the probe.

However, Omondi contends that no such inventory has been filed nearly a year later, terming the delay unconstitutional and unlawful.

“The 11-month silence in a matter involving Sh11.3 billion is not an exercise of discretion; it is a jurisdictional abdication of duty,” he argues.

“Unless this Court intervenes, the public will lose billions and Kinoti will escape justice via the ‘lapse of time’ strategy,” Omondi warns.

The matter is pending hearing.