The withdrawal followed an application by the prosecution during a hearing before Milimani Principal Magistrate Daisy Mutai on October 6, 2026.
In its orders, the court allowed the withdrawal of charges against Wachira and Robert Ingarisa, the fifth accused person, under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The court further directed that the cash bail deposited by the two accused persons be released to their respective depositors.
Wachira had been charged alongside other suspects in Nairobi Magistrates Court Criminal Case No. E559 of 2025, in which Arthur Otula, Rosemary Daraja and four others face various criminal charges.
According to the charge sheet, Wachira and Ingarisa were accused of jointly misappropriating Ksh.17,591,473, allegedly belonging to SHA, on diverse dates between October 2024 and May 20, 2025, at the authority’s headquarters in Nairobi.
The charge was brought under Section 48(2) of the Social Health Insurance Act, as cited in the charge sheet.
However, lawyers representing Wachira had previously asked the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to review the charges, arguing that their client had left SHA on November 12, 2024, and that the alleged transactions occurred after his departure.
In a letter to the DPP, the law firm Manyonge Wanyama & Associates LLP said its review of documents supplied by the investigating officer had not revealed any adverse mention of Wachira in the 2,235 pages of material provided.
The lawyers cited Article 157(6)(c) of the Constitution and the 2019 Guidelines on the Decision to Charge in seeking a review of the prosecution’s decision.
They argued that Wachira should not be held criminally responsible for transactions allegedly committed after he had left the authority.
The court formally recorded the withdrawal of the charges against Wachira and Ingarisa in its orders issued on October 6, 2026.
The court order did not indicate that the court terminated the entire case against the remaining accused persons.
The proceedings against the other accused persons may therefore continue, subject to further court directions.
