An attempt by the Telco to reverse an earlier arrest warrant, over contempt, was rejected by the High Court in Embu.
Justice Lucy Njuguna of Embu High Court dismissed with costs the two applications filed by Safaricom, saying the directors did not challenge the ruling which found them in contempt of court.
Judge also noted that it was presumptuous to grant the orders sought as the trial court was yet to grant them leave to file an Appeal at the High Court. “It is trite that under Section 75 of the Civil Procedure Act, leave to appeal is not automatic and the applicant is yet to convince the court that it deserves the order. As it stands now, the fate of that application is yet to be determined and this court cannot assume that the applicant will automatically be granted the leave sought,” judge ruled.
In December 2022, a margistrate court found Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa, and directors, Dilip Pal, Christopher Kirugia, Winfred Ouko, Raisibe Morathi, Sitholizwe Mdalalose, Rose Ogega, Francesco Bianco, former CEO Michael Joseph, Elijah Bitange Ndemo, Mohamed Shameel Aziz Joosub and Linda Watiri Muriuki.
The arrest warrant was issued because Safaricom refused to obey a court order directing it to release Sh7.7 million, being claimed by one Ephantus Mbogo Njuki. The money is from insurance firm Invesco Assurance. Safaricom operated an Invesco account through a Paybill number and Njuki attached the account to recover a compensation claim of Sh7.7 million.
In his suit papers,Njuki claimed Safaricom PLC was duly served with a Garnishee order absolute on October 4, 2022 for the release Sh7,778,887.24 by way of email but has failed and ignored to adhere with the same.
A Garnishee order is a legal notice to a third party to surrender money.
