Time hitch sees Philomena Mwilu respond to charges today

A day of high drama in the war on corruption ended on Tuesday without Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu answering to charges of fraud and abuse of office.

Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the court had gone beyond the gazetted hours and deferred the plea taking to Wednesday morning.

He further ordered Ms Mwilu and lawyer Stanley Muluvi Kiima to sign personal bonds of Sh5 million each secure their freedom.

The Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Ms Dorcas Oduor, did not oppose Ms Mwilu's release on personal bond, but noted that she is appearing in court as an accused person, not as the deputy chief justice.

Ms Mwilu, who was represented by a battery of lawyers, including senior counsel James Orengo, Dr John Khaminwa and Okong’o Omogeni, Daniel Maanzo, Millie Odhiambo, Peter Kaluma, Anthony Oluoch and Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, said she will object to the charges.

STUDIED CHARGE SHEET

Her defence team said she will on Wednesday address the court on the constitutional issues concerning the charges. Such objections, Mr Orengo said, should be raised at the earliest opportunity, adding that the DCJ was confronted with the charges late in the afternoon, and they had not studied the charge sheet. He said the charges cannot stand.

"Let her be released on her own cognisance. The banks and registry are already closed," Mr Orengo noted.

Mr Mwilu was arrested yesterday afternoon by detectives led by Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Kinoti and taken to court a few minutes past 5pm.

She and Mr Kiima face a total of 13 counts relating to fraud, abuse of office, failure to pay stamp duty and forgery, among others.

Among the charges against Ms Mwilu is that she abused her office by conferring a benefit to herself while serving as a Court of Appeal judge in 2013.

SH60 MILLION

The charges state that she gave herself Sh12 million between August 15, 2013 and October 23, 2015 at Imperial Bank headquarters in Westlands belonging to the troubled bank.

She is also accused of obtaining security by false pretence with intent to defraud, and influenced the bank's receiver manager to discharge two titles charged to the bank to obtain a Sh60 million loan.

She will also be charged with failing to pay taxes amounting to Sh3.1 million for property she bought in Nairobi, forgery of a KRA stamp duty declaration, assessment and pay, purporting them to be genuine.

Mr Kiima, through lawyer Morris Kimilu, said he was in trouble for doing his job. He said he was arrested on Monday afternoon and taken to the DCI headquarters until evening, when he was locked up at the Muthaiga Police Station.

SECURE CONVICTION

The court ruled that the bond executed remains in force until Wednesday morning, when further directions are issued

Earlier, the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Noordin Haji, had announced that he was satisfied that the evidence gathered against Justice Mwilu is enough to secure a conviction.

 "Kenyans should expect fresh investigations and prosecutions on a regular basis,” he said.

Should Ms Mwilu be convicted, she will become the first, if not the senior most court officer to be jailed.

Initially, the DCI had focused its probe on the collapsed bank’s former directors and managers.

Months later, the DCI found evidence that Ms Mwilu, while serving as a Court of Appeal judge, might have received money from Imperial Bank to influence the outcomes of cases involving the collapsed lender.

PROSECUTION

“This afternoon, I informed Chief Justice David Maraga of my decision to grant consent for the arrest and prosecution of the Deputy Chief Justice, Philomena Mbete Mwilu, on criminal charges,” Mr Haji said.

“The evidence in our possession reveals that Lady Justice Mwilu misused her office for personal gain, accepted a gift in the form of money in circumstances which undermined public confidence in the integrity of her office, obtained execution of a security belonging to Imperial Bank Ltd — now in receivership — by false pretence, unlawfully failed to pay taxes and conducted herself in disregard of the law,” Mr Haji added.

The DPP did not give details of the security Justice Mwilu is accused of obtaining illegally, but banking experts told the Nation that it might mean she benefited from an asset used to secure a loan from the collapsed lender to influence cases on Imperial Bank.

PAY TAXES

Ms Mwilu's arrest and arraignment was the culmination of a chain of events started by the Kenya Revenue Authority.

The taxman reported to the DCI that Justice Mwilu had moved large amounts of money without paying taxes, prompting the probe.

Mr Haji confirmed that the DCI is investigating several files that could lead to the prosecution of more officers in the Judiciary, based on issues flagged by Auditor-General Edward Ouko’s annual probes on government bodies.

But the DPP insisted that that majority of court officials are honest.

“The justice system only works if lawyers, prosecutors, magistrates and judges are fair and just. There can be no justice if lawyers, prosecutors, magistrates, judges and investigators — who are court officials — use their positions to enrich themselves at the expense of the Kenyan people,” he said.