Judge Chitembwe says he had Sh770,000 the police seized

High Court Judge Said Chitembwe has admitted that he had about Sh770,000 in US currency with him when police officers raided his office in July.

However, the judge says the money was for school fees for his son, who studies at a university in Australia.

“That the USD7,000 in my possession was and still is my lawful money intended for my son’s school fees in Australia. I voluntarily handed over the same to the officers when I saw them do a body search on the 1st interested party (Justice Aggrey Muchelule) to avoid any misrepresentation by the said officers,” he says in an affidavit.

The police claimed that they recovered $57,000 (Sh6.2 million) from the chambers of one of the judges.

Justice Chitembwe said that the three police officers who raided Muchelule’s chambers brought an unidentified lady with them who seemed to have been under arrest. He adds that the police did not state who she was but took her to the toilet in the chambers, searched her and allegedly recovered $50,000.

According to Justice Chitembwe, the search was done in the presence of one of Justice Muchelule’s secretaries.

“That after the search, I did remove from my pockets USD7,000 that I had been having with me for purposes of paying for my son’s school fees at the Edith Cowan University Perth Australia and handed over the same to the officers,” he said.

Through his lawyer Danstan Omari, the judge said it is wrong for the police to mislead that they are the ones who recovered the money.

He said he and his wife have kept a dollar account in her name for over three years, and as such, it was not unusual for him to have US dollars.

In an affidavit to oppose a petition seeking to bar the prosecution of the two judges, police said they recovered the money from one of the chambers. The two judges’ chambers are next to each other.

Mr Felix Karisa, an officer attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), claimed that they got a tip that some judicial officers received bribes to deliver favourable judgments and rulings.

The officer said they were informed that the money would change hands in one of the judge’s residences, but the venue changed to the chambers at the Milimani Courts. They raided the offices without a search warrant because they had no time to obtain the order, Mr Karisa said.

“We waited at the relevant meeting area from our time of arrival around 1400h, when information was received that the exchange was about to take place at Chamber 230, which belongs to the 1st interested party (Justice Muchelule),” he said, adding that Justice Chitembwe, who occupies an office next to Justice Muchelule, facilitated the meeting.

The police have maintained that the search was lawful and the judges were treated with dignity. “That all requested persons, including the interested parties, were voluntarily cooperative. The interview and statement recording was done expeditiously, after which they left to continue with their duties,” Mr Karisa said.

The DCI want the case filed on behalf of the two judges by the Kenya Judges and Magistrates Association (KMJA) dismissed.

The two judges were taken into custody on July 22 for questioning but were later released.

Justice Jairus Ngaah has issued temporary orders barring the prosecution of the two judges.