NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 28 – A senior magistrate accused of accepting cash to influence a court sentence is headed to the dock after the Director of Public Prosecutions approved bribery charges against him and a probation officer allegedly caught in an EACC sting operation.

📻 Breaking It Down

Kangema Senior Principal Magistrate Martin Kinyua Mutegi and Senior Probation Officer Julius Irungu Njogu face allegations of soliciting and receiving a bribe to influence the sentencing of a convicted businessman.

According to the EACC, the matter arose from a criminal case in which a Murang’a businessman had been convicted of obtaining money by false pretences and was awaiting sentencing on July 22.

Senior Principal Magistrate Martin Kinyua Mutegi of Kangema Law Courts and Senior Probation Officer Julius Irungu Njogu

📌 What You Need to Know

Investigators say that in mid-July, Njogu approached the businessman, claiming to be acting on behalf of Magistrate Mutegi, and demanded Sh170,000 to secure a probation report that would ensure the court imposed a non-custodial sentence instead of a prison term.

The businessman reported the alleged extortion to the EACC, which mounted a sting operation.

On July 21, EACC detectives arrested Mutegi and Njogu at a restaurant in Kangema Township after they allegedly received Sh150,000 from the complainant. The two were subsequently booked at Nyeri Central Police Station.

A day later, Judicial Service Commission (JSC) Chairperson and Chief Justice Martha Koome suspended Magistrate Mutegi and initiated disciplinary proceedings against him.

“The allegations are grave and, if proved, constitute a serious violation of the law, the Judicial Code of Conduct and Ethics, and the values that underpin the administration of justice,” Koome said at the time.

“I have consistently stated that judges, judicial officers and members of staff cannot discharge justice with one hand and commit a crime with the other,” she added.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya