Kangema magistrate to be charged over Sh150,000 saga

Kangema Principal Magistrate Martin Kinyua Mutegi and Julius Irungu at a restaurant in Kangema Township. [File, Standard]

Kangema Principal Magistrate Martin Kinyua is expected on Wednesday to answer bribery charges after the High Court in Kerugoya declined to stop his prosecution over the Sh150,000 saga.

Kerugoya High Court Judge Joyce Gandani instead ordered that the case filed by the magistrate should be heard on September 21.

In the case, Kinyua alleged that he was publicly vilified even before he was arraigned in court. He claimed that despite having a long career in the Judiciary, he was painted as a corrupt person.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Attorney General (AG) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on the other hand urged the High Court to strike out the case.

The two claimed that Kinyua is trying to evade his day to face the law without providing evidence that his rights have been violated.

The DPP through prosecutors Duncan Ondimu, Eliphas Ombati and Abdisalam Bore, argues that the magistrate had failed to appear before court to answer to charges twice while knowing he was required to do so.

Ondimu, was of the view that Kinyua should have raised his concerns before the trial court.

The commission asserted that it did its work, forwarded the investigation file to the DPP, who then ordered the magistrate’s arrest.

It asserted that Kinyua should put effort into controverting its evidence before the trial court, adding that the case was allegedly meant to short-circuit the criminal case before it is heard.

“Kenya's criminal justice system does not determine criminal liability through jury trials but through independent courts exercising judicial authority under the Constitution. The constitutional presumption of innocence is safeguarded by the independence and impartiality of the trial court and is not displaced merely because information concerning an arrest or ongoing investigations is communicated to the public by a constitutional commission acting in the discharge of its statutory mandate,” EACC’s lead investigator Kipkirui Yegon replied.

The Attorney General, Dorcas Oduor while backing the DPP and EACC argued that although Kinyua raised concern that he was suspended by the Judicial Service Commission simultaneously with the arrest, the disciplinary process and criminal one ought to continue as they seek to enforce Chapter Six of the Constitution.

Kinyua moved to the court claiming that his arrest and suspension had allegedly been publicized to the public, which allegedly painted him as guilty. He further alleged that he was condemned unheard.

The magistrate urged the court to block any re-arrest or prosecution. He accused the DPP and EACC of allegedly ruining his 20-year career in the judiciary.

“The actions of the respondent and most specifically those of the first respondent to publicise the investigation before establishing a solid case against the applicant is not only malicious on their part but a total violation of the applicant’s constitutional right that needs this court intervention,” his lawyer Alex Kamuri argued.

Kinyua sought a gag, saying that he had been allegedly unfairly subjected to shame.

“The said publication and media publicity has caused the applicant irreparable damages in terms of his reputation and public standing; if not stopped will continue tarnishing his name and causing unprecedented pain. The applicant has been exposed to intense ridicule and embarrassment by the actions of the respondents, which are predicated on unsubstantiated allegations and nd without the applicant being accorded a chance to be heard,” Kimuri added.