Chief Justice Maraga sends 11 magistrates packing for graft allegations
11 magistrates dismissed for corruption, misconduct and underperformance.
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The magistrates of different cadres are among 15 who had been interdicted and whose disciplinary proceedings had been instituted earlier this year.
“The nature of complaints against them ranged from corruption, impropriety, incompetence, misconduct and delays in the delivery of judgments among others,” the Chief Justice said in the statement sent to newsrooms.
Three other magistrates and two judicial staff are still under investigation, while one has been reinstated.
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The names of the magistrates were, however, not revealed in the statement.
This is not the first time graft allegations are rocking the Judiciary, former chief justice, Willy Mutunga in an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, compared Kenya justice system to a banditry economy full of mafia-style criminals like Al Capone’s mob in 1920s America.
“They are doing illegal business with politicians. If we do not fight the cartels, we become their slaves. But leaders who do take on the cartels must be prepared to be killed or exiled.”
Before he exited office he again claimed that the election of the judges’ and magistrates’ representatives to the JSC conducted last year was riddled with corruption.
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“It causes me a lot of pain that an election involving judges and magistrates would involve the magnitude of corruption that it has emerged happened,” he told journalists during the launch of the Wajibu Wetu Programme, a forum aimed at strengthening democracy and public participation.
The credibility of Kenya’s highest court, the Supreme Court was again brought into focus after of its judges, Justice Philip Tunoi was accused of accepting a $2 million (Sh200 million) bribe to rule in favour of Dr Evans Kidero, whose election as Nairobi governor was challenged in 2014.
After a lengthy proceeding and investigation, Justice Tunoi was forcefully retired.
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