Mukurwe-ini Member of Parliament John Kaguchia has been released on a cash bail of KSh250,000 after the Milimani Law Courts postponed taking his plea to allow the court to first determine objections raised by his legal team challenging the validity of the charges against him.
Kaguchia appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Teresiah Nyangena on Tuesday, where he was expected to answer a charge of offensive conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.
According to the prosecution, the alleged offence occurred on August 1, 2026, at Naromoru Shopping Centre in Kieni East, Nyeri County.
Prosecutors claim the legislator made remarks in Kikuyu intended to incite hostility and disrupt public peace.The charge sheet alleges that Kaguchia warned residents that anyone who voted for or supported “Kasongo” would face social exclusion.
The remarks allegedly included calls for such individuals to be ignored during bereavement, excluded from dowry ceremonies, and advised to seek medical treatment in Sugoi if they fell ill.
Before the charge could be read, the defence raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the particulars contained in the charge sheet did not disclose any offence recognized under Kenyan law.
The defence also accused investigative agencies of disregarding previous High Court directives. The lawyers argued that Kaguchia had been denied immediate access to his legal representatives and that authorities had failed to comply with court orders requiring them to disclose his whereabouts and release him on a cash bail of KSh100,000.
In response, the prosecution dismissed allegations of contempt, maintaining that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had not been served with one of the High Court orders in question.
“The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was not served with the said order and therefore cannot be held in contempt,” the prosecution submitted.
The defence urged the court to grant Kaguchia bail while the preliminary objections are being considered, arguing that he posed no flight risk and would attend all future court proceedings.
In her ruling, Magistrate Nyangena noted that the legal circumstances had changed because the MP had now been formally presented before a criminal court to face charges.
“Although the High Court ordered his release, the circumstances before this court are different because the accused person is now facing criminal charges,” she ruled.
The court subsequently ordered Kaguchia’s release on a bond of KSh1 million or an alternative cash bail of KSh250,000.
The matter will be mentioned on Wednesday, when the court is expected to issue further directions regarding the defence’s preliminary objections.
