The Court of Appeal has granted Nairobi County a temporary reprieve by staying the execution of a High Court judgment that had declared the Nairobi Alcoholic Drinks Control Fund unconstitutional. 

"In the circumstances, an interim order of stay of execution of the judgment of the High Court justice Mugambi, J dated 6th March 2025 is granted pending the delivery of the ruling of this Court on 7th November 2025," reads the court of  ruling.

The interim order, issued by a three-judge bench comprising Justices S. Gatembu Kairu, Jamila Mohammed, and Weldon Korir, will remain in effect until the court delivers its ruling on November 7, 2025.

In March 2025, Justice Lawrence Mugambi of the High Court ruled that Sections 43 and 44 of the Nairobi City County Alcoholic Drinks Control and Licensing Act were unconstitutional.

He found that the establishment and management of the fund did not comply with the Public Finance Management Act, particularly concerning transparency and proper oversight.

Consequently, the judge ordered that all funds previously deposited into the account be redirected to the County Revenue Fund Account until a legally and constitutionally compliant public fund is established .

Following this decision, Nairobi County, represented by lawyer Duncan Okatch, appealed to the Court of Appeal seeking a temporary stay of the High Court's judgment pending the appeal.  

"We urged the Court to grant interim orders of stay of execution pending the delivery of the ruling as sought in prayer 3 of the Notice of Motion," court was urged by the county lawyers.

The ruling on November 7 will be pivotal in determining the future of the Nairobi Alcoholic Drinks Control Fund and could have broader implications for the management of similar funds across other counties.

Okatch in the appeal argued that the  critical operations of the Nairobi City County Alcoholic Drunks Control Board had been paralyzed due to the decision by Justice Mugambi.