Anti-graft bodies will now be expected to notify suspects before storming their properties to conduct searches.
This comes after the court on Thursday outlawed secret warrants obtained by detectives to search properties as well as access bank accounts.
The court also ruled that the detectives can only resolve to search the properties of suspects if they fail to cooperate during the period of the probe.
The ruling by the Court of Appeal is set to end the surprise searches by detectives that had become common in the country.
The new development has already started to elicit mixed reactions from different factions. According to critics, the new move is likely to interfere with the probe into several cases.
The critics have faulted Appeal Court judges Sankale ole Kantai and Roselyn Nambuye following the move. They believe that too much freedom given to graft suspects will give them time to interfere with investigations against them. The critics also opine that corruption suspects do not need any form of amnesty when it comes to dealing with them on such matters.
The decision will affect the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The judges noted that detectives at times overstep their mandate through the search warrants to make difficult for the suspects to prove whether they are innocent or not.
“The Legislature’s intention was for a person of interest or suspect to be aware of the intended action of EACC against him. It also intended for a person of interest to first be given a chance to voluntarily comply with notice before any action is taken against him,” the judges said in their ruling.