Kericho magistrate, clerk deny soliciting Sh20,000 bribe

A Kericho magistrate and a court clerk accused of demanding a Sh20,000 bribe from a suspect have denied the charges.

Kericho Resident Magistrate Judith Achieng Nyakol and Clerk Robert Cheruiyot on Thursday denied the charges in a Nakuru court.

Nakuru Senior Principal Magistrate Wakumile Ndururu released the two on a Sh50,000 bond or an alternative Sh20,000 bail each.

Ms Nyakol and Mr Cheruiyot are accused of soliciting a Sh20,000 bribe from Mr Wilson Yegon on August 21 at the Kericho Law Courts.

Mr Yegon had been accused of running a bar at Brooke Trading Centre in Kericho Town without a licence and court staff allegedly wanted the magistrate to rule in his favour.

The prosecution, led by Mr Hillary Songoyo, told the court that the two were arrested by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission detectives within the court chambers.

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Defence lawyers David Mong’eri and Lawrence Karanja sought to be supplied with witness statements and documents, including audio recordings, that are likely to be used as evidence in the case.

The lawyers also requested the court to order the investigating officers to release the magistrate’s official laptop and identification card they claimed were confiscated during her arrest.

According to the lawyers, the laptop contained private documents, undelivered judgments, rulings and court proceedings.

However, the prosecution maintained that the laptop and the ID card were part of the exhibits to be used in the case and would be released once investigations are over.

However, the court ordered the prosecution to release the laptop and ID card before the case is mentioned on October 2.

Fatuma Arfun contributed to this story.