Cases left pending as magistrates promoted

By Wahome Thuku 

The elevation of two Kibera Court magistrates to become judges has left the station in a state of uncertainty.

Chief Magistrate Cecilia Githua and Senior Principal Magistrate Grace Nzioka were the two senior most magistrates in Kibera. They are among the 11 magistrates who were promoted by the Judicial Service Commission on Monday.

Ms Githua, who went to head the station early this year, has left a number of high profile, corruption and drug trafficking cases pending. Initially she was Anti-Corruption Court Chief Magistrate at the Nairobi Law Courts then moved to Kibera with some files.

One of the cases still pending before her is the trial of former Tourism PS Rebecca Nabutola, which was initiated in 2009. Ms Nabutola is facing five counts of conspiring to defraud the Tourism Ministry of more than Sh8 million, and abuse of office.

Abusing office

She is charged with former Kenya Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer, Ong’ong’a Achieng and a board member Duncan Kaguru. The alleged offences were in relation to a tourism promotion tour, organised by the ministry for PSs at the Masai Mara Game Reserve in October, 2007.

Nabutola is accused of abusing office by appointing a private firm to co-ordinate transport to the game reserve and instructing the Catering and Tourism Development Levy Trustees to foot the bill.

The offences were allegedly committed between June and December 2007. The three who are out on Sh500,000 cash bail each, were only waiting for Ms Githua to rule whether or not they have a case to answer.

Also pending before her is Sh7 million corruption case against former Kenya Reinsurance Managing Director Johnson Githaka and other senior officers.

Ms Githua was also hearing Sh7 million-fraud case against a former World Bank project manager, Livingstone Maina Ngare. In this case, the High Court has ordered that two witnesses submit evidence to the magistrate court from the United States through video link and video conferencing.

Some of the cases left behind by the 11 magistrates may either proceed from where they stopped or start afresh before other magistrates a factor that contributes to miscarriage of justice and backlog of cases in the judiciary.

Lawyers have always argued that magistrates and judges who get elevated to higher levels should be allowed to conclude all matters pending before them.

During her interview for the job, Ms Githua told the JSC that abrupt transfer of magistrates partly causes the backlog of cases.