Chief Justice Willy Mutunga now makes his wealth public

Chief Justice (CJ) Willy Mutunga last night made his wealth public.

According to copies of the wealth declaration forms that he posted on his Twitter account, the CJ has an apartment LR No: 209/4517-64 valued at Sh15 million.

Another property LR No: 330/586-A3 located in Nairobi is worth Sh19.1 million, according to the filing for the period January 2012 to November 2015.

Over the same period, the CJ discloses his net salary was Sh50 million.

In addition, Dr Mutunga (pictured) has ancestral land in Kitui valued at Sh2 million as of last year. He also has a saloon car worth Sh750,000.

Between January 2011 and December 2014, Mutunga says he pocketed Sh10.1 million as Judicial Service Commission (JSC) income. The Chief Justice is the chairman of the JSC.

And between January and June 2011 the CJ earned $170,000 (Sh17,17,229,500) in salary. In addition, he got Sh400,000 from Mutunga & Company Advocates. He says his spouse’s car is is worth Sh650,000.

Between June and December 2011, the CJ’s salary was Sh5.2 million.

Other allowances including foreign travel total Sh6 million.

“In upholding the values of transparency and accountability, I make my wealth declaration public. Soon I will be subjected to a forensic lifestyle audit,” Mutunga wrote.

Mutunga has maintained that he will retire in June to give his successor time to prepare before the next polls.

The CJ has said his early retirement would also enable the country to avoid a political and constitutional crisis during the polls.

Last year in October, Mutunga formally stated that he would be retire in June 16, 2016.

He said the process of electing a new CJ requires a lot of time and public scrutiny and thus it was important that he retired early. “I wish that the issue of succession would be settled well before I leave office to avoid any conflict or constitutional crisis when the country goes to election in 2017. I do not mind an early retirement because it would not impact my financial status in any way,” he said recently.