Nairobi County Chief Officer for Environment Geoffrey Mosiria skipped his sentencing hearing for contempt of court on November 4, 2025. His lawyers claimed he fell ill upon learning of a possible jail term. The court allowed their challenge to the conviction but declined to treat it as urgent.
Nairobi County Chief Officer for Environment Geoffrey Mosiria failed to appear in court on November 4, 2025, for his sentencing on contempt of court charges. Instead, he sent his lawyers, who explained that he had fallen ill upon learning of the potential jail sentence. During the hearing, the lawyers challenged the contempt determination, in which Mosiria was accused of defying a conservatory order issued on March 5 that restrained the county and its committees from approving or processing any development applications in the Parklands area pending a proper physical and land use plan.
The lawyers argued that the signatures appended to the petition documents purportedly belonging to Mosiria were forged and thus requested the bench to allow them to challenge the conviction. The bench, comprising Justice Oscar Amugo Angote, Justice Anne Abongo Omollo, and Justice Charles Gitonga Mbogo, agreed to the request but declined to certify it as urgent, setting the next hearing for February 2, 2026.
“We will afford your client a hearing on the application, but it will not be treated as urgent because we have other matters in between,” the court directed.
The defied court order had halted all developments in Parklands until a proper land use and physical planning framework was in place. The petitioners and the Parklands Residents Association had accused Nairobi County officials of ignoring the conservatory order by allowing excavation and tree cutting to continue on Jalaram Road.
As a result, the DCI has launched an investigation into the forgery claims linked to the Parklands land case. Kilimani SCCIO Hussein Mahat wrote to the Deputy Registrar of the Environment and Land Court at Milimani on November 4, seeking certified copies of all documents filed in the petition, including the petitioners' affidavit and supporting evidence. The DCI is investigating the forgery case contrary to Section 349 of the Penal Code, reported at Kilimani Police Station.
Mosiria's lawyers, speaking after the court ruling, relayed that their client had reported the forgery at the same police station once he learned of the contempt finding. They also revealed that they had hired their own forensic investigator, who determined that the alleged signature leading to Mosiria's conviction did not belong to him. They insisted that as a public servant, Mosiria adhered to all laws and could not have defied a court order.