Court rejects bid to revive rejected plea deal in judiciary clerk’s bribery case

By  Benson Matheka

Correspondent

A High Court judge has rejected a bid by a court official charged with receiving a bribe to revive a plea agreement a lower court had rejected.

The official, Abdifatah Mahumud Hassan, had been arrested after allegedly demanding Sh400,000 from a complainant to facilitate the printing and issuance of court proceedings relating to the complainant’s file.

According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Mr Hassan, a court assistant at Makadara Law Courts, had received Sh50,000 when detectives arrested him.

“At the time of the arrest, he had received a downpayment of Sh50,000 and was due to receive the balance when detectives pounced,” EACC said.

Mr Hassan was subsequently charged with receiving a bribe before the Nairobi Chief Magistrate’s Court. He denied the charge and later negotiated with the prosecution, resulting in a plea agreement signed on July 20, 2026.

The agreement was presented to the trial court on July 23, but the EACC opposed its adoption.

The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court rejected the agreement on July 30, saying it had not been signed by the EACC, which was entitled to compensation under the deal.

Mr Hassan then moved to the High Court, asking it to examine the lower court proceedings, overturn the decision and endorse the plea agreement.

But Justice Joseph Kipkoech, sitting in Milimani, Nairobi, dismissed the application, finding that the lower court had acted properly in rejecting the agreement.

A key question before the High Court was whether the EACC was a complainant in the case and therefore required to sign the agreement because it provided for compensation to the commission.

The judge found that the EACC was the complainant, noting that the commission had investigated the bribery allegations that led to the criminal case.

The judge said the commission is empowered to receive and investigate reports of bribery and acts in the public interest in such matters.

The court also found that the trial court had properly given reasons for rejecting the plea agreement.

“The decision by the trial court was properly informed by non-compliance with Section 137E (e) of the CPC and cannot be termed to be illegal or incorrect,” the judge said.

Mr Hassan had argued that his application was not an appeal but a request for the High Court to examine the lower court proceedings and correct an alleged error.

The prosecution supported his application, arguing that the EACC was an investigative agency rather than the complainant in the case.

However, the High Court found that there was no error or illegality by the trial court that would justify its intervention.

The judge also ruled that the High Court could not endorse the plea agreement after it had been rejected.

A rejected plea agreement, the judge said, becomes invalid and cannot bind any of the parties. The law also bars fresh negotiations on an agreement that has already been rejected.

Justice Kipkoech therefore dismissed Mr Hassan’s application dated August 26, 2026.

The criminal case will now proceed to hearing and determination, according to the ruling delivered virtually in Nairobi on September 21, 2026.

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