DPP orders fresh probe on threats to CJ Mutunga

By CYRUS OMBATI

Nairobi, Kenya: Director of Public Prosecution Keriako Tobiko has ordered police to re-open the probe into a threatening letter that was addressed to Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga in February.

This was after police recommended that the file be closed with no further action.

Tobiko told the CID officers that he had been assigned to pursue the matter as there were gaps in their probe that needed to be filled.

“Having done so, I have reached the conclusion that the investigations did not examine or exhaust a number of leads and are wanting in some material respects,” said Tobiko in a letter to the CID director Ndegwa Muhoro.

He told Muhoro to return the file to his office within 14 days.

The DPP also recommended that security for the judges be boosted.

 The investigations were triggered by a letter purportedly written by an entity named Mungiki Group/Kenya Sovereignty Defence Squad in February in which the CJ and other judges were warned of dire consequences over cases touching President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.

The threats to the judges were issued in regard to if they ruled against the two leaders in the recent High Court matter challenging their eligibility to contest.

 Tobiko had appointed a team of prosecution counsel in his office to provide legal guidance and advice in the course of the investigation.

The team of investigators interrogated several people including youth who were found photocopying the letter in Kibera slums in Nairobi before closing the file.

Tobiko said in his letter it was not clear why the investigating officers did not follow up and obtain a statement from the account holder of the twitter account @makau_mutua.

“Such statement might have established and clarified the source of the threatening letter considering that the version twitted from that account material bore material differences from the original,” says part of the letter.

He added it is not explained why further investigations were not conducted to establish the ownership of the twitter account @mungikipress from which the message referred to by the CJ was sent on February 24.

Tobiko said the possible link between that message and therefore its authors, to the threatening letter cannot be dismissed.

The DPP said there is no basis of the finding by the team ruling out the possibility of the postage stamp on the envelope having been erased during the sorting out process of the post office and conclusion that such erasure may have been made after collection of the envelope from the post office.

This was according to the police, meant to conceal the point of postage and thereby the authors but Tobiko says there is no evidence in the file and no record of inquiries conducted on the same.

He told police to investigate the judiciary staff over their conclusion the threatening letter may have originated from the staff who were discontent about the ongoing reforms by the CJ.

“At any rate, that conclusion is at odds with the recommendation of the team that the file should be closed with no further police action as further investigations may warrant investing the judiciary staff.”

“If it is true as claimed by the team that the judiciary staff originated the offending letter, why should they not be investigated?” asked Tobiko.

He faulted police for failing to indicate if investigations into recent no fewer than five attacks on judges involving guns had been investigated and those responsible brought to justice.

Regarding the incident in which the CJ was stopped at the airport by immigration officers and asked to seek clearance from the Office of the President, the DPP ordered that head of public service issues a fresh circular to clarify that heads of other arms of government do not need clearance.

“It is important nevertheless in order to avoid such or similar embarrassments in future for Mr Francis Kimemia to issue (if he has not already done so) a written communication clearly and expressly station so,” said Tobiko.

The CJ had revealed how he was stopped at the Airport by an immigration officer who insisted he could not travel because he had not been cleared by Kimemia.