Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Philomena Mwilu is facing graft allegations and is probably being investigated by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over numerous counts of stealing, abuse of office and unlawful failure to pay taxes.
According to a local daily which did not mention her name, Mwilu had been reported by the Kenya Revenue Authority to the Director of Public Prosecutions over the suspicious movement of large sums of money in and out of bank accounts, suspected to be proceeds of graft.
Worse still, Mwilu’s investigations are focused on transactions involving the collapsed Imperial Bank, and failure to pay taxes.
In 2015, it was reported that the collapsed bank lost over Ksh34 billion of customer deposits, which forced the Central Bank of Kenya to put it under receivership. Detectives are looking to unearth how the learned judge accepted a personal loan of Ksh12 million, which could be part of the lost monies.
The investigating organs have given a berth to the issue, however indicators are that the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji could have given a green light for the judge to face the law.
Read: DCI Hunt For Policeman Who Raped Form Two Girl In Police Cells
According to Daily Nation, prosecutors have discussed, on top of prosecuting, reporting the judge to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), possibly an indication of confidence in the evidence they have gathered.
Earlier reports had indicated that the DCJ is targeted by top government officials after failing to comply with them in the 2017 Presidential election petition filed by Nasa. It is rumoured that the judge rejected advances by the officials led by speaker Justin Muturi to alter the judgement, prompting a plot to ‘revisit’.
Muturi is rumoured to be Mwilu’s first boyfriend and the father to the first born child. He however dumped Mwilu in campus after learning that she was pregnant.
Early this year, the DCJ revealed to parliament that judges were being targeted by the executive arm of the government after the nullification of President Kenyatta’s win last year, who promised to ‘revisit’ the judiciary.
The covert investigating officers have made sure that no information leaks to the media, with scanty details emerging mostly from junior officers.
All institutions including the judiciary, Judicial Service Commission, Kenya Revenue Authority, DCI and the Director of Public Prosecutions have remained tight-lipped about the matter.
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