Blogger and IT specialist Ndiangui Kinyagia has been cleared to pursue his studies in the United States after the High Court ordered the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to immediately release his travel documents.

In a ruling delivered on Thursday, December 18, 2025, Justice Bahati Mwamuye directed the DCI to hand over Ndiangui’s passport and international vaccination card by Monday, December 22, finding no legal justification for their continued detention.

The court noted that holding the documents would unfairly jeopardise Ndiangui’s academic future, given the lengthy process involved in securing a student visa.

“I take judicial notice that a student visa application is a long and elaborate process,” Justice Mwamuye ruled. “There is no reason why the respondent should continue holding travel documents that are not subject to any subsisting court order merely on the basis of investigations.”

The judge was ruling on an application filed on December 10, 2025, in which Ndiangui, through lawyers led by Senior Counsel Martha Karua, sought a review of an earlier decision declining to release the documents.

Karua told the court that Ndiangui had secured admission to a university in Florida, where he is expected to begin a Master’s degree in science in March 2026, and required his documents to process a student visa.

Justice Mwamuye said Ndiangui had provided sufficient grounds to warrant the release of the documents and ordered Chief Inspector Nickson Kinywa to personally hand them over at the DCI Headquarters’ Serious Crimes Unit.

“Consequently, the petitioner and his advocates shall attend the DCI headquarters on Monday, December 22, 2025, at 9am for the purpose of receiving the documents ordered to be released,” the judge directed.

The ruling follows an earlier setback for Ndiangui after Justice Lawrence Mugambi on November 10, 2025, declined to grant an urgent request for the release of the same documents.

At the time, Ndiangui’s lawyers argued that he needed to travel to India to accompany his sister for urgent medical treatment. However, the court found that no evidence had been presented to demonstrate the claimed emergency.

Justice Mugambi dismissed the application and directed the DCI, the Inspector-General of Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Attorney General to file their responses within seven days.

During the proceedings, State Counsel Rukiya informed the court that items seized from Ndiangui’s residence in Kinoo along Waiyaki Way on June 21, 2025, including electronic gadgets, were still being held as investigations remained ongoing.

“The investigating officer has indicated that the matter is under active investigation, and that is why the petitioner’s gadgets and other seized items cannot be released at this stage,” Rukiya told the court.

While the investigations are set to continue, the latest ruling removes a major hurdle for Ndiangui, clearing the way for him to pursue his studies abroad.