Suspended Nairobi Finance CEC Charles Kerich has suffered yet another blow in his ongoing legal battle.
The High Court has once again refused to suspend his three-month civil jail sentence, marking the fourth time he has tried to get relief from this order without success.
Kerich had approached the court with a plea to halt the sentence, arguing that his health is too fragile for him to return to the country. He claims that he is currently receiving specialist medical treatment in the United States and that his condition makes it impossible for him to travel back to Kenya at this time. However, the court was not convinced by his arguments and declined to grant his request.
This latest ruling means that the civil jail sentence still stands. It is a significant setback for Kerich, who has been trying to avoid the consequences of the court’s order since it was first issued. The court’s decision shows that it is not easily swayed by arguments about his health, especially since this is his fourth attempt to have the sentence suspended.
The legal troubles for Kerich began when he was found to have disobeyed a court order. The civil jail sentence was imposed as a punishment for this contempt. Since then, he has been fighting to have it overturned or paused, but each effort has been met with failure. The court seems determined to see the original order enforced, regardless of his efforts to delay it.
His absence from the country has been a key point of contention. While he maintains that he is too sick to come back, the court appears to view his claims with suspicion, especially given the number of times he has tried to use similar reasons to avoid serving his sentence. The judges have made it clear that they do not see enough reason to grant him another reprieve.
Charles Kerich remains in a difficult position. The law is clear, and the court has spoken. Unless he can find a new legal angle or present a much stronger case, he may have no choice but to return to Kenya and face the consequences of the court’s ruling.
His attempts to postpone the inevitable have run their course.