This archive report was first published on 14 October 2019.
On October 14, 2019, Nairobi businessman Humphrey Kariuki received a significant boost in his Ksh.41 billion tax evasion case after the High Court quashed orders freezing access to several bank accounts of companies associated with him.
High Court judge Luka Kimaru ruled that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over-breached a court order issued by the Kiambu Magistrate court.
"The application filed by the Respondents before the Kiambu Chief Magistrate's Court in Kiambu Chief Magistrate's Court Miscellaneous Criminal Case No.367 of 2019 is hereby brought to this court for the purposes of revision. The same is revised as it was filed in breach of the law. That application is ordered dismissed," the court ruled.
The court noted that the DCI over-breached itself in dealing with tax-related matters, stating that there was an element of jurisdictional overreach by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on matters which are statutorily under the jurisdiction of the Asset Recovery Authority and the Kenya Revenue Authority.
While noting that there was overbreach by the DCI, the judge said that the application sought before the Kiambu magistrate did not seek an order to freeze the accounts in question, but the orders sought were to investigate so as to establish whether there was an offence.
The court also upheld an order directing the unfreezing of several bank accounts of firms associated with Kariuki.
