Former University of Nairobi, (UoN) Council Chairman Prof. Amukowa Anangwe, alongside three senior officials, has been fully exonerated from a Ksh32.4 million corruption case, a dramatic turn of events that validates their persistent claims of political targeting.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Renson Ingonga, surprised the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court last Thursday when he announced his office would no longer pursue charges against Professor Anangwe and his co-accused.
The state prosecutor, appearing before Principal Magistrate Celesa Okore, simply requested the termination of the matter under Section 87(a) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), offering no explicit reasons for the abrupt withdrawal.
Following this, Professor Anangwe’s lawyer, Abdrazak Mohamed, promptly requested the release of his client’s passport and a refund of the Ksh1 million cash bail, requests that the magistrate duly granted.
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This unexpected development arrives barely two months after Professor Anangwe, alongside fellow UoN Council members Caren Omwenga, Abdullahi Ahmed, and Chief Operations Officer Daniel Brian Ouma, faced sensational arrests and charges on May 17, 2025.
The charges, encompassing abuse of office and unlawful acquisition of public property, centred on allegations that the Council unlawfully reappointed Ouma as Acting COO on April 19, 2024, ostensibly violating a judgment from April 8, 2024, in ELRC JR 46 of 2023.
Ouma separately faced accusations of unlawfully earning over Ksh32.4 million for holding various positions between March 2015 and May 2025, which the prosecution argued he was unqualified for.
From the outset, Professor Anangwe steadfastly proclaimed his innocence, asserting that the charges were nothing more than a fabricated, politically motivated attempt to oust him due to his independent leadership.
“This prosecution is purely political and legally defective,” his lawyer, Abdrazak Mohamed, declared during a fiery court session in May
“It was never about corruption; it was about removing my client from the university council through state machinery.” He added.
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The defence had consistently argued that the charges were “malicious, constitutionally defective, and in direct contempt of a superior court’s binding orders,” citing a valid conservatory order issued in Petition No. E192 of 2024 by the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC) that barred interference with Mr. Ouma’s employment status.
The defence also underscored the legal principle that a university council operates as a corporate body, acting collectively, and therefore, prosecuting individual members for collective resolutions was legally erroneous.
“It is true law that an individual cannot pass a resolution. A resolution is passed by a body corporate,” explained Abdrazak
The lawyer dismissed the case as having “no legal foundation. It’s an academic process being paraded as corruption enforcement. It’s harassment, not justice.” He further highlighted that Ouma was already serving in his capacity before Professor Anangwe assumed the council chairmanship, questioning the very basis of the allegations.
The manner of Professor Anangwe’s arrest, a dramatic predawn apprehension in Kisumu by EACC detectives and his subsequent forced airlift to Nairobi for same-day prosecution, had also fuelled widespread claims of political targeting and an abuse of process.
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His lawyer criticized the EACC for what he termed an ambush.
“The EACC told us they would call my client when necessary. Instead, they ambushed him early morning, transported him like a fugitive, and rushed him to this court. That’s not justice. That’s harassment.” He stated
This vindication comes after a period of considerable turmoil for Professor Anangwe, who had twelve months remaining in his three-year term as Council Chairman, set to conclude in May 2026, before his removal following these charges.
It is notable that prior to his prosecution in May, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Migos Ogamba, had in February of this year attempted to revoke Anangwe’s appointment, a move swiftly challenged in court, with Justice Bahati Mwamuye ruling in Anangwe’s favour and suspending the gazette notice.
By Cornelius Korir
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