Geoffrey Mosiria has moved to the Environment and Land Court seeking a review and setting aside of orders that found him in contempt of court for allegedly disobeying directives issued on March 5, 2025.
In an affidavit filed before the court, Mosiria maintains that he was unaware of both the proceedings that led to the issuance of the conservatory orders and the subsequent contempt proceedings. He argues that he was not a party to the original petition or the interlocutory application and was only later introduced into the case.
Mosiria further accuses the petitioners Kamalkumar R. Sanghani, Jags Kaur, and Teddy Obiero of attempting to introduce new and untested evidence of service that was not relied upon during the contempt application. He contends that, on the advice of his advocates, contempt proceedings are quasi-criminal in nature and therefore require personal service upon the alleged contemnor, which he insists was never effected.
He has also informed the court that he has since been transferred from his previous position to serve as the chief officer in charge of Citizen Engagement and Customer Service.
The impugned ruling was delivered on October 14, 2025, by a three-judge bench comprising Principal Judge O.A. Angote, Justice A. Omollo, and Justice C.G. Mbogo. The decision arose from a petition filed by the Parklands Residents Association, led by Kamalkumar R. Sanghani, seeking punitive action against several parties accused of violating court orders aimed at stopping unauthorized developments in the Parklands area.
The dispute dates back to March 2025, when the residents obtained conservatory orders barring the Nairobi City County Government and its planning committees from considering or processing any development applications in Parklands. The orders were to remain in force pending the hearing and determination of a substantive case challenging the absence of a proper physical and Land Use Development Plan for the area.
Despite the court directive, residents reported continued tree cutting and excavation activities on property identified as L.R. No. 1870/1/320 along Jalaram Road. Investigations linked the activities to Grandpine Company Limited, prompting the residents to return to court and accuse county officials and the developer of willfully defying the court order.
In its ruling, the court found that Mosiria, who was then serving as the County Chief Officer for Environment, had signed two “Authority to Excavate” permits dated March 17 and May 14, 2025, after the conservatory order had already been issued. The court held that the issuance of the permits amounted to a deliberate breach of its orders.
“Despite full knowledge of the conservatory order, the 4th alleged contemnor proceeded to issue the authority to excavate,” the judges stated, concluding that his actions were in violation of the court’s directives.
However, the court dismissed contempt proceedings against four other county officials, citing insufficient evidence linking them to the approval of the disputed permits.
The matter is scheduled to come up on February 2, 2026, for further directions.
