Revealed: The choking rot that forced Uhuru to decline appointing six judges

• Oct 21, 2021

By John Kamau, Editor, Thingira.org. editor (thingiragema@gmail.com)

The ruling by High Court Judges William Musyoka, James Wakiaga and George Dulu giving President Uhuru Kenyatta 14 days to appoint six judges he rejected on moral grounds is not only shocking but sadly reflects the rot in the corridors of justice.

The judges in their ruling said Chief Justice Martha Koome in conjunction with the Judicial Service Commission shall be at liberty to take all necessary steps to swear in the six judges if Uhuru fails to play his part.

But time has come for Kenyans to be informed the reasons President rejected the nomination of the six judges who are High Court’s Joel Ngugi, George Odunga, Aggrey Muchelule and Weldon Korir, alongside Registrar of the High Court Judith Omange and Chief Magistrate Evans Makori.

Indeed, the recent revelations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) that they recovered Sh6 million when they raided the Chambers of Justices Aggrey Muchelule and Said Juma Chitembwe is another pointer of how the Kenyan Judiciary is rotten and held captives by cartels.

Chief Inspector Felix Karisa Banzi told the court they recovered US dollars 50,000 (Sh5 million) from Justice Muchelule and US Dollars 7,000 (Sh700,000) from Justice Said Juma Chitembwe during the raid.

But Justices Muchelule and Chitembwe are not the only ones to be caught in the web of corruption at the Judiciary.

In a series of editions, we will expose the rot at the Judiciary, starting with why President Uhuru Kenyatta declined to nominate Chief Magistrate Evans Kiago Makori as judge as recommended by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

According to sources, a case Evans Kiago Makori handled while serving in Mombasa as Chief Magistrate informed the President’s decision not to appoint him as judge.

The sources revealed that Makori's appointment as a judge was rejected on solid information he accepted a bribe from the Al-Shabaab terrorist organisation.

In October 2o18, Makori, who was Chief Magistrate in Mombasa, acquitted four women from Mandera who had volunteered to be Jihad brides for Al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia.

The women, Ms Ummulkheir Sadri Abdalla, Ms Khadija Abibalcar Abdulkadir, Ms Maryam Said Aboud and Ms Halima Aden Ali, had initially caused the country to be placed under high terrorism alert soon after the murderous attack on Garissa University College where over 200 Kenyans lost their lives and many more were maimed and traumatised.

The attack resulted in closure of the institution for almost two years.

The four women were arrested by Kenyan security forces as they attempted to cross the border into Somalia at Elwak.

One of the women, Maryam Said Aboud, the wife of Sheikh Aboud Rogo, a key suspect in the recruitment of Kenyan youths into terrorism, had been released earlier by a Mombasa court, again under unclear circumstances, shortly after she had been jailed for years by a lower court for abetting and facilitating terrorism.

Impeccable sources claimed Makori received Sh6.5 million from an Al-Shabaab intermediary to release the ladies.

The magistrate, sources added, also got intimately involved with one of the acquitted suspects as part of the bargain for their release.

The lady, a stunning Somali semi-illiterate beauty, would change into Kafir dress, including trousers, after which she would be transported to a secret rendezvous, usually one of the luxury hotels in Mombasa, for a romp with the magistrate.

At one point, the magistrate was overheard telling the woman that he would not mind divorcing his wife and spending the rest of his life with her.

It later transpired that the magistrate was not too impressed by the suspect, little education and lack of sophistication.

The magistrate also feared revenge from terrorists for marrying a Muslim girl without converting into Islam.

In acquitting the trio, Makori said there was no evidence linking the women to the crime they were accused of  - intention of being Jihad brides.

Although the women were found with phones that had communicated with unknown numbers, Makori said they was no evidence the women were linked to terrorists.

As for the literature the ladies were found with, Makori said there was no evidence that the literature belonged to Al-Shabaab.

Apparently, the magistrate wanted a certificate from the Al-Shabaab Registrar of Books and Newspapers acknowledging the bona fide nature of the pamphlets in order for him to believe it was terrorist literature.

Makori released the suspects and literally gave them bus fare.

After their acquittal, a desperate State prosecutor, Eugene Wangila, sought an order for their Sh5oo,000 bond not to be released in order to bind them during appeal but the order was flatly rejected by the magistrate.

“As far as I am concerned, I have no jurisdiction in this case after delivering my judgment,” Makori, who ordered the release of the bond to the suspects, ruled.

This is the Makori who wanted to be promoted from magistrate to Judge.

He had specifically sought to be judge of the Land and Environment Court where there are huge prospects for making money for any corrupt judge.

According to sources, Makori has become extremely wealthy as a result of receiving bribes in exchange for favourable judgments by tycoons in Mombasa.

The bribes were collected on his behalf by orderlies and other junior public servants.

Interestingly, there are numerous omissions, errors and incongruities in his wealth declaration forms.