Suspended judge 'wasn't to hear Kamlesh Pattni case'

A suspended judge suffered a blow after it was revealed that he was never directed to handle Kamlesh Pattni's files.

High Court judge Weldon Korir yesterday said he had requested embattled judge Joseph Mutava to stand in for him around August 6 to 10, 2012 since he was attending to some private matters, but denied asking Justice Mutava to preside over a case involving the businessman.

Mr Pattni was the chief architect of the Goldenberg scandal where the country lost billions of money in dubious transactions.

Justice Korir said he never asked Mutava to preside over the businessman's application that sought to stop the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions from preferring fresh charges against him in relation to the Goldenberg scandal.

He told a tribunal chaired by Court of Appeal judge David Maranga that Pattni's matter was to be decided by judge Florence Muchemi, who was mandated with the Judicial review issues.

"I was meant to be the vacation judge for the Civil and Land and Environment divisions, which were combined for the vacation for the entire week of August 6 to 10, 2012 but I had a school function for my children to attend that Friday, so I asked Mutava to step in for me," Korir told the tribunal investigating the conduct of Mutava.

He added: "But I wouldn't have asked him to preside over the case because it should have been before the Judicial Review Court."

Earlier, lawyer Nelson Havi, who was among people with complaints against the judge over the handling of the case, appeared for cross-examination by Mutava's lawyer, Philip Nyachoti.

Mr Nyachoti accused Mr Havi of waging a personal war against the judge since Mutava had handed his client, in another case, an unfavourable ruling.

But Havi accused the embattled judge of misconduct when handling the case, stating that the judge issued orders ex-parte.