DCI Chief and DPP Handed 6-Month Jail Threat Over Missing Sh4.5 Billion Dossier

Top investigative and prosecutorial authorities in Kenya are facing the grave threat of civil imprisonment after a former Savannah Cement shareholder petitioned the High Court over their alleged defiance of court orders and refusal to surrender critical evidence linked to a disputed Sh4.5 billion ($35 million) loan scandal.

In fresh court filings, businessman John Gachanga Kaiganaine has instituted high-stakes contempt of court proceedings targeting Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Mohamed Amin, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga, and two senior DCI investigators, Kellen Shivachi and Joseph Mucheru.

The application explicitly petitions the High Court to slap the top state officers with a six-month custodial sentence in civil jail for deliberately failing to comply with a binding judicial order mandating the immediate release of prosecution dossiers, forensic reports, and witness statements.

The high-stakes legal feud traces its origins back to a bitter boardroom battle and subsequent criminal inquiry into allegations that former Savannah Cement investor Benson Ndeta and US national Charles Hill Jr fraudulently procured a Sh4.5 billion credit facility from Absa Bank Kenya in 2017 using forged authorisations.

Following extensive complaints lodged by founding shareholders John Gachanga Kaiganaine and Donald Kiboro Mwaura under their investment vehicle, Savannah Heights Limited, the pair was formally charged with conspiracy to defraud, making false documents, and uttering forged papers.

However, the criminal case suffered a major setback when the High Court subsequently quashed the prosecution, ruling that the conflict was fundamentally a civil commercial dispute and declaring the criminal trial an abuse of the judicial process.

According to fresh affidavits sworn by Kaiganaine, state investigative agencies breached a clear directive issued by Milimani Resident Magistrate Carolyne Nyaguthii Mugo on February 6, 2026.

The magistrate had explicitly instructed DCI detectives and prosecutors to supply the complainant with certified copies of all witness testimonies, bank communications, and documentary exhibits intended for use in the criminal prosecution.

Despite formal follow-ups and written reminders delivered directly to the DCI headquarters on February 27, 2026, the state agencies allegedly refused to hand over physical or digital copies of the evidence dossier.

Kaiganaine disclosed that while detectives allowed him, Mwaura, and their legal counsel to physically inspect the file, which contained over 10 key witness statements, internal Absa Bank correspondence, and detailed forensic analysis reports, investigators strictly forbade them from photocopying, scanning, or photographing any portion of the documents.

"I cannot be seen to depone upon existence of documents which should have been supplied to me," Kaiganaine argued in his court papers, maintaining that mere physical viewing without physical copies fell far short of the constitutional standard for full disclosure.

The aggrieved shareholder contends that withholding the police dossier severely crippled his ability to participate effectively as a primary witness and sabotaged his legal strategy in a parallel constitutional petition tied to the collapsed prosecution.

Determined to force compliance from the country’s top law enforcement officials, the petition asks the High Court to issue far-reaching punitive orders beyond civil imprisonment.

Kaiganaine is requesting the court to compel the Attorney-General to immediately take custody of the original police file and order DCI Chief Mohamed Amin, DPP Renson Ingonga, and the lead investigators to deposit their official travel passports with the court to prevent them from leaving the jurisdiction while in contempt.

The Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General have been officially named as interested parties in the suit to enforce strict compliance with any eventual sanctions handed down by the bench.

This escalating legal warfare marks the latest chaotic chapter in the collapse of Savannah Cement, once one of East Africa's promising building material manufacturers.

The company buckled under staggering debts exceeding Sh14 billion in 2022 before falling into administration. Its manufacturing assets were eventually acquired in 2025 by a new consortium operating under Savannah Cement 2025 Limited.

The current contempt application follows a September 2026 ruling by High Court Judge Justice Anne Mary Auma Okutoyi, who declared the initial prosecution of Ndeta unlawful, null, and void.

While Justice Okutoyi declined to certify the contempt petition as urgent, the judge instructed Kaiganaine to formally serve the legal documents on the DPP, DCI boss, and investigators to allow them time to file their responses. The High Court has scheduled the matter for mention on December 2 to issue further directions on whether to summon the top law enforcement officers to show cause why they should not be jailed.