The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji has tabled his evidence against embattled Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu in a petition seeking her ouster from office.
According to the DPP, he has established sufficient grounds for Mwilu’s removal as Deputy Chief Justice and the Vice President of The Supreme Court of Kenya.
In the 18-page petition, Haji lists 49 suspicious financial transactions running into millions that caught the attention of senior officials at the Kenya Revenue Authority who recommended a probe.
The petition, Citizen Digital reports, details how DCJ Mwilu obtained cash amounting to Kes3 million at the Supreme Court parking lot on October 28, 2014.
On the same day in the afternoon, Mwilu allegedly received an additional Sh7 million which was delivered to her office at the Supreme Court.
Then on the evening of November 5, 2014, another Kes10 million was delivered to her residence in Kilimani. All the transactions were in cash.
Citizen further reports that on November 2, 2014, the Imperial Bank Limited (IBL) Relationship Manager Mehbooh Jaferali Khalftan Shamji made a cash payment of Kes10 million to the DCJ but failed to explain where they met with the Mwilu for the drop-off.
Haji also claims that DCJ Mwilu used the prestige of her judicial office to advance her private interests.
“She obtained a loan of Ksh.12 million by virtue of her office as a Court of Appeal Judge. She did not apply for the loan, there was no written letter of offer from Imperial Bank Limited (IBL) setting out the loan amount, repayment period, interest rate, security offered, amongst others and all this, at zero interest,” the petition reads.
Haji also notes that Mwilu was not appraised for her creditworthiness as required but instead dealt directly with then IBL Managing Director.
Documents show that the DCJ wrote to Jan Mohamed, the Managing Director Imperial Bank Limited (IBL), (now deceased) on August 15, 2013 and applied for a Kes70M long-term loan using the Judiciary Letterhead.
On August 30, 2013, she wrote a handwritten letter to the bank official requesting for a reduction of interest rate from 14 percent to any lower rate even before the loan was processed.
The DPP added that investigations at Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) revealed that Mwilu and her advocate never paid stamp duty totaling to Kes12,440,000 when purchasing properties. They reportedly presented forged National Bank of Kenya pay-in slips to KRA.
Haji states the above actions are illegal and amount to gross misconduct, misbehavior and the breach of the Judiciary code of conduct.
He argued that Mwilu’s acts have demeaned the office of the Deputy Chief Justice and a Judge in general and are not consistent with the dignity of the judicial office.
“Reasons wherefore your Humble Petitioner prays that the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) be pleased to find that there are sufficient and overwhelming grounds for recommending to His Excellency the President that a Tribunal be appointed to inquire into these events and particularly to find reason for the removal of the Respondent from office, station and position of the Deputy Chief Justice,” said DPP Haji in the petition.
