Philip Tunoi yet to decide if he wants public or private trial

Supreme Court judge Philip Tunoi is yet to decide whether he wants to be tried in private or in public.

The judge alleged to have received a Sh200 million bribe from Governor Evans Kidero yesterday asked the tribunal investigating him for some time to think about it.

After a pre-trial session held in camera, Tunoi’s lawyer, Paul Lilan, told journalists the 72-year-old judge will speak his mind before the formal hearing begins on Tuesday next week.

“We were asked if the judge wants to be tried in public or not and we asked for time to think about it,” Lilan said.

The Sharad Rao-led tribunal sat at exactly 2pm and held the pre-trial conference for hours. At 2.30pm, the media were allowed to get in and take a few photographs before the doors were closed again.

The senior judge sat next to his other lawyer, Fred Ngatia, during the session that lasted close to two hours.

Face Accuser

Tunoi had previously indicated he wanted to face his accuser, Geoffrey Kiplagat, in public. In the tribunal, his lawyers will be allowed to grill Kiplagat.

The judge has always insisted he is innocent and that the accusations were linked to Chief Justice Willy Mutunga’s succession battle, adding he was being fought in order to pave way for a successor.

Tunoi, who has served in the Judiciary for the last 29-and-a-half years, rising from a High Court judge in May 1987 before his elevation to Court of Appeal and appointment to the Supreme Court in 2011, said he was ready to quit the bench if his accusers provided evidence of bribery