Kenyan Prosecutors Arrest Top Judge for Alleged Corruption

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan authorities arrested Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu Tuesday for alleged abuse of office and for accepting money “in circumstances which undermined public confidence in the integrity of her office.”

The top judge got a loan from Imperial Bank Ltd., which is in receivership, under false pretences, Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji told reporters in the capital, Nairobi. Mwilu, who was appointed to her post in October 2016, will also be charged with tax evasion, he said.

“There is enough evidence,” Haji said. “We wouldn’t have gotten here if we didn’t have evidence.”

Earlier this month, the public prosecutor ordered an investigation into alleged fraud and mismanagement of funds in the judiciary.

Kenya is widening a state clampdown on corruption as President Uhuru Kenyatta seeks to improve controls over public funds to help finance his ambitious infrastructure plans. Several government officials have been arrested and charged with graft-related offenses in the crackdown.

“Over the years a system of chaos has taken over in our country,” Haji said. “The message that the president and the chief justice are sending is that this chaotic system needs to come to an end.”

Kenya’s Supreme Court led by Chief Justice David Maraga annulled a presidential election held last year, a move that Kenyatta criticized as a “judicial coup.” He called the judges “crooks” and pledged to “revisit this agenda” at a later date. He won a second term in a rerun vote held in October that was boycotted by the opposition.

Source: Bloomberg Business News