Nairobi, Kenya – July 19, 2025 – Michael Nyachae, the embattled chairman of the Development Bank of Kenya (DBK), is caught in a firestorm of controversy as civil society group Operation Linda Jamii drags him to court, demanding his ouster over a shady appointment and a damning Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) blacklisting that has tongues wagging across the nation.
In a bombshell petition filed at the High Court’s Constitutional and Human Rights Division in Nairobi, the activist group is gunning to void Nyachae’s 2023 appointment by President William Ruto, branding it a blatant violation of Kenya’s Constitution.
They claim the process was a secretive backroom deal, devoid of the transparency, competition, and integrity demanded by Articles 10, 73, and 232.
“This was no appointment it was a stitch-up!” fumed Prof. Ogola, a key figure in the lawsuit, pointing to Nyachae’s alleged CRB red flag as proof he’s unfit to lead a public institution. “A blacklisted chairman? It’s a slap in the face to Kenyans!”
The petition doesn’t spare the big guns, hauling the Central Bank of Kenya, the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), the Public Service Commission, the Attorney General’s Office, and the National Assembly into the dock for allegedly turning a blind eye to the murky appointment.
Operation Linda Jamii insists Nyachae’s selection flouted the Leadership and Integrity Act and the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, accusing Parliament of shirking its oversight duties.
They’re now demanding the court declare the appointment null and void, with a hearing set for July 28, 2025, before Justice E.C. Mwita.
But that’s not all, Nyachae’s troubles are piling up faster than a Nairobi traffic jam.
In a separate scandal rocking the courts, Eureka Holdings, a shareholder in Nyachae’s family-run Associated Auto Centre, has slapped him and two other directors, Aminnohamed Shamsudin and Mozez Ismael Jamal, with a lawsuit alleging they’ve run the company into the ground.
Court filings reveal a trail of unpaid loans from Diamond Trust Bank, Credit Bank Limited, and Sidian Bank Limited, plus a jaw-dropping Sh7.79 million tax bill from the Kenya Revenue Authority that’s gone unsettled.
Eureka is baying for blood, seeking to boot the trio from their director roles and freeze their assets to stop what they call a “financial freefall” that’s gutting shareholder value.
Insiders whisper that Nyachae, son of the late Cabinet Minister Simeon Nyachae, is feeling the heat as his reputation hangs by a thread.
“From dodgy loans to a questionable chairmanship, this is a man whose decisions are costing Kenyans dearly,” one source close to the case told us.
With the courts poised to unravel these tangled messes, the nation watches as questions swirl: How did a CRB-blacklisted figure land such a plum post? And will justice prevail in this high-stakes drama?
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