State officials battling corruption charges should not access their offices, Appeals Court has maintained.
The ruling by Justice Jamila Mohammed on Friday upheld an earlier judgment by Justice Mumbi Ngugi, banning state officers charged with corruption from accessing their offices.
Justice Ngugi's ruling in relation to Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu's case, sent most officers in panicking mode, forcing his Samburu counterpart Moses Kasaine to seek interpretation.
In a ruling on Friday, Justice Mohammed maintained that all officers battling corruption should never access their offices, until their cases are heard and determined.
“What message does it send to the citizens if their leaders are charged with serious corruption offenses, and are in office the following day, overseeing the affairs of the institution?” she said.
She further likened a governor’s corruption charge to a state of ill health saying: “There have been circumstances in the past in which county governors have, for reasons of ill health been out of office, and given the fact that the constitution provides for the seat of a Deputy Governor, the counties have continued to function.
“In this case, the applicant is charged with a criminal offense; he has been accused of being in ‘moral ill-health’," she added.
The latest ruling is a blow to high profile state officers especially governors who are facing graft related cases.
The ruling has already applied to Waititu, Kasaine and Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, who can no longer access their offices due to corruption charges.