Threats to DCJ Philomena Mwilu’s life and career revealed in affidavit

janet ndila

September 1, 2018 9:40 AM

President Uhuru Kenyatta named in affidavit by Mwilu’s legal team

Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu’s legal team has revealed a series of spirited attempts to kick her out of office, with a gun attack attack that left her badly shaken.

An affidavit filed in court by Mwilu’s legal team recounts an incident on 24 October 2017 when a gun man opened fire on her official vehicle, leaving her driver injured along Ngong road.

While it is not clear if she was the intended target of the attack, Mwilu who was not in the car at the time of the attack was left so badly shaken that she failed to show up for a Supreme Court hearing the next day touching on repeat polls.

The affidavit also points to a statement made by President Uhuru Kenyatta in which he promised to revisit the Judiciary, noting that it had a problem and needed to be fixed.

The affidavit reads in part that “The public utterances of the president were reasonably and clearly understood to mean that retaliatory consequences and/or actions would be taken against both the judiciary as an institution and the majority judges who are blamed for the determination against the President.

The decision to annul the 08 August presidential elections brought with it more challenges to her career with 3 petitions seeking her removal from office.

On 18 September 2018, Derrick Malika Ngumu petitioned the JSC seeking the removal of Mwilu along with Justice Isaack Lenaola on account of the September 01 decision to annul the results of the August 08 presidential elections.

On 14 September 2017, Nyeri town Member of Parliament Ngunjiri Wambugu who is also a member of the President’s Jubilee party lodged a petition to the Judicial Service Commission for the removal of the Chief Justice.

Adrian Kimotho would also petition the parliament seeking the removal of Mwilu and the Chief Justice among others.

janet ndila