Court to rule on Kisumu City Manager Abala Wanga’s bid for fresh statement in forgery, fraud case

Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa scheduled the ruling for December 3, 2025, at 10am after defence lawyers and the prosecution disagreed over the interpretation of earlier directives concerning the recording of Abala’s statement and the timing of plea taking.

The matter was mentioned before Magistrate Barasa, with prosecutor Bore appearing for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). Lawyers Steve Ogola, Misare Njagah and Okuthe Anton represented Abala, who was present in court.

The session was intended as a follow-up on orders issued on November 25, 2025, in which the court directed Abala to appear before the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on November 26 at 10am for statement recording and processing. His bond had been extended to December 2, 2025.

Defence counsel Ogola told the court that although Abala complied and presented himself before the Commission, he was allegedly not allowed to record a statement under inquiry as earlier directed by Okore.

Instead, Ogola said, Abala was only permitted to give a charge-and-caution statement and was processed “under protest.”

Ogola urged the court to issue explicit directions compelling the commission to allow Abala to record a statement under inquiry, arguing that this was a right already granted under earlier orders.

He further asked the court to postpone plea taking until the statement is recorded and to extend Abala’s bond.

The prosecution countered that the ODPP had fully complied with the court’s directions by amending the charge sheet, facilitating the recording of a charge-and-caution statement, and completing the processing.

The prosecutor stated that Abala had already recorded statements under inquiry in two files—E063/2025 and E064/2025—on November 17, 2021, and February 21, 2025, respectively, and maintained that the recent court order referred only to a charge-and-caution statement.

On the issue of plea taking, the prosecution sought a short adjournment, noting that the ODPP had on November 26 received a letter from Abala’s legal team outlining nearly ten concerns and requesting a review of the two files before plea.

The State requested a one-week deferment to address the issues and asked the court to clarify that the statement referred to was the charge-and-caution one.

After hearing both sides, Magistrate Barasa set December 3, 2025, as the date for the ruling on both Abala’s request to record a fresh statement and the prosecution’s application to defer plea. The court extended Abala’s bond terms until the date of the ruling.

He is also set to be charged with forgery and abuse of office over claims that he altered a letter to attend a conference in Nigeria and unlawfully received more than Ksh.280,000 in daily subsistence allowance, among other allegations.