Principal Magistrate Edgar Kagoni spent the night of Monday, September 9, in custody despite orders by the Mombasa High Court to have him released, The Standard reported.

Kagoni had gone to the court to block his prosecution in connection with the mishandling of narcotics worth Ksh30 million in which he had been implicated, and he was released on Ksh100,000 bond, with the orders to be served through WhatsApp or email.

In Nairobi, however, it is reported that Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina ruled that unless original copies of the orders granted in Mombasa are produced in court, Kagoni would remain in custody and be charged on Tuesday.

He added that if the original documents are not tabled, then Kagoni was going to take a plea in court like any other suspects still in custody.
 
“This court has to ascertain the existence of lawful genuine orders before making any further directions because that’s what is before the court after uncertified documents relating to the matter,” Onyina ruled.

On Monday, the court suspended Kagoni’s anticipated prosecution pending the determination of a separate substantive application by Kenya Magistrates and Judges Association (KMJA).

“This application has met the threshold for the grant of conservatory orders against the state and its servants and agents. I order the petitioner be released from wherever he is within the republic,” the judge stated.

The Standard reports that Onyina gave the lawyers time to table the original documents in court on Tuesday.

This was after defence lawyer Dunstan Omari made an application because some of his colleagues were held up and would not make it to court on Monday.

Kagoni was arrested alongside four others including Ruiru court assistant Onesmus Momanyi, court executive assistant Abdallah Awadh, and court staff Lawrence Thoya.

Edgar kagoni was finally released on Tuesday, September 10 at 10.15 AM.