The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court has ordered the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to verify the authenticity of medical documents presented by Kisumu City Manager Abala Wanga, who failed to appear in court claiming he is admitted at Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu.
Milimani Magistrate Celasa Okore gave detectives 14 days to visit the hospital and confirm whether the suspect, who faces charges of forging academic papers and fraudulently earning Sh8.7 million in salaries over four years, is indeed unwell and admitted as claimed.
The directive came after state prosecutor Bora sought two weeks to verify the medical documents presented by Abala’s lawyers, led by Steve Ogola.
“The accused person is absent. We have been presented with medical documents which our investigators need to investigate. We seek two weeks to allow the EACC investigators to do so,” Prosecutor Bora told the court.
“We urge that during the next mention, a plea-taking date be fixed as the plea is delaying.”
Ogola told the court that his client failed to appear for the scheduled plea-taking because he is currently admitted at Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu and is expected to undergo surgery.
“We seek four weeks to enable the client to recuperate as the doctors are yet to indicate whether he will undergo surgery,” Ogola stated, requesting that his client’s pre-bail be extended.
The lawyer further indicated that he has written to Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga seeking a review of the charges against his client.
Magistrate Okore ordered that the matter be mentioned within two weeks to receive progress on the hospital verification, authentication of the medical documents, and an update on the DPP’s review of the charges.
The case has been set for mention on March 2, 2026.
Abala Wanga was first arraigned on December 3, 2025, before Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court to face allegations of forging his KCSE certificate to secure his county position and illegally earning Sh8.7 million in salaries over four years.
According to charge sheets filed in court, Abala is accused of fraudulently acquiring Sh8,701,091 from the Kisumu County Government between September 22, 2020 and November 30, 2024 while serving as Kisumu City Manager, a position he allegedly obtained using a forged KCSE certificate bearing serial number 268532.
He is also accused of forging an invitation letter dated June 10, 2024, purportedly from the University of Lagos, which he allegedly used to claim Sh283,402.50 in excessive daily subsistence allowances for attending the CLEAN Air Forum in July 2024.
Additional charges include facilitating the travel of a woman who is not a county employee to Lagos, Nigeria, using falsified documentation.
During his first appearance on December 3, 2025, before Milimani Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa, Abala did not take plea after his lawyer informed the court that he had written to the DPP requesting a review of the charges.
The defence had accused the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) of failing to record statements from several key Kisumu County officials, including the County Human Resource Director, the Kisumu City Human Resources Officer, the County Payroll Manager, the Governor’s Chief of Staff, the County Travel and Logistics Officer, and Abala’s secretary.
Magistrate Barasa had then set December 19, 2025 as the date for plea-taking, releasing Abala on a Sh500,000 personal bond.
However, the plea taking again was postponed to February 6,2026 where Abala has failed to appear.
