The saga of Wajir gubernatorial election petition has taken a new twist with accusations that Wajir governor Mohamed Abdi allegedly used his agents to bribe four judges tens of millions to secure his election.
With Kenyans and arms of the government accusing the judicial service commission of relaxing on the war against corruption, the accusations leveled against the three high court judges are said to be an acid test to Chief justice David Maraga.
Two of the four judges are specifically being accused of engaging in improper contacts with agents of the governor with the intention of receiving bribes in tens of millions of shillings to influence the outcome of the appeal by the Wajir County chief whose election had earlier been nullified by the High Court and the ruling upheld by the Court of Appeal.
The four Supreme Court Judges named in the petition are Mohamed K. Ibrahim, Jackton B. Ojwang, Smokin C. Wanjala and Njoki S. Ndung’u.
Nairobi lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi had threatened against the four and filed a petition at the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) seeking their removal.
Ahmednassir, in the petition, claims that there were corrupt dealings between the appellant (Mohamed Abdi), through others, and some judges.
Through the law firm of Nchogu, Omwanza & Nyasimi Advocates, the losing petitioners in the Wajir gubernatorial election petition — former governor Ahmed Abdullahi and Ahmed Muhumed Abdi — have asked JSC to initiate investigations into the conduct of Supreme Court judges Jackton Ojwang’, Mohamed Ibrahim, Smokin Wanjala and Njoki Ndung’u, with a view to removing them from office for reported gross misconduct — if found culpable.
If deemed serious enough, a recommendation will be made to the President to form a tribunal that will test the evidence presented before coming up with a decision on whether or not a judge in questions should be removed. This means that despite the JSC receiving the petition on Friday, the detailed accusations will have to be scrutinised first.
The petition claims that a sitting MP and a chief administrative secretary from northern Kenya were involved in the scheme. Working with them, the petition claims, were two law firms.
“(The lawyer, name witheld) drove to JKIA in a Toyota Land Cruiser V8 vehicle with a box packed with Sh75 million (in dollars) in the vehicle trunk,” the petition states.
At the airport, it is alleged that the lawyer pulled up alongside a Prado with tinted windows which was carrying the judge who sent his driver to pick the box from the lawyer.
Another transaction is alleged to have taken place in early January. A law firm was reportedly asked to sell a property urgently to raise Sh60 million. The petitioners allege that the proceeds from the sale was topped up to Sh300 million and transferred by the law firm to four different bank accounts held at a local Islamic bank.
These monies, the petition claims, were eventually given to the MP who “on or about the week of 4th – 7th February 2019” ensured it reached some judges.
Another transaction involving Sh15 million is alleged to have taken place on February 11 at between 3pm and 4pm at a local bank in Eastleigh. The petition further details a transaction at a local bank where money was transferred to a law firm with links to Wajir County — with a “substantial amount” later withdrawn “for purposes of treating the judges and buying their influence”.
It is also alleged that a person connected to the saga has been trying to tamper with call records and erase the trail of communication that link them to the judges and has been to the VIP centre of a telecommunications company “more than 40 times between mid-January and end-February”.