Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Police want Baraza tried



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By FRED MUKINDA fmukinda@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Monday, January 9  2012 at  22:30
IN SUMMARY
  • Detectives say Deputy Chief Justice should face death threat and illegal firearm possession charges
Police believe Deputy Chief Justice Nancy Baraza and her driver should face gun charges, security officials told the Nation on Monday.
Among the charges police want Lady Justice Baraza to face are unlawful possession of a firearm, illegal use of a firearm and threatening to kill.
Lady Justice Baraza, who is also the Deputy President of the Supreme Court, is alleged to have assaulted a security guard, Ms Rebecca Kerubo, on New Year’s eve at the Village Market, an upmarket shopping mall in Nairobi.
On Monday, her employer, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), ordered an investigation into her conduct and will take a decision about her future on Friday.
The judge has apologised for an “unfortunate” incident, but has denied that it involved a gun.
As a sign of the gravity of the incident, Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere sought the legal advice of Attorney-General Githu Muigai yesterday morning.
A knowledgeable Judiciary source said Mr Iteere took a strong position on the matter, informing Prof Muigai that he would resign if the JSC interfered with investigations. But there were conflicting reports as to whether the investigation file, together with the prosecution recommendations, had reached the office of prosecutor Keriako Tobiko.
Within the JSC, judge Baraza’s legal quandary is being seen as an embarrassment to the Judiciary and as testing the “spirit of the equality of all before the law”. But the JSC is also careful not to become a lynch mob and its members are understood to be determined to offer her a fair hearing.
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“Justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done. That is why the sub-committee was formed to hear all sides,” said the source explaining why the JSC did not take its decision yesterday.
Scuffle at mall
The sub-committee is chaired by the Rev Samuel Kobia. Its members are Mr Ahmednasir Abdullahi, Ms Emily Ominde, Ms Florence Mwangangi, Prof Christine Mango, Mr Titus Gatere and Mr Justice Isaac Lenaola, with Mrs Gladys Shollei as its secretary.
The Police investigation into the mall scuffle was led by the director of CID, Mr Ndegwa Muhoro, underscoring the seriousness with which the case is being treated. Police sources said detectives were satisfied that they had sufficient evidence to sustain charges.
The decision to recommend prosecution, police sources said, was mainly based on Judge Baraza’s statement, which police described as “self-incriminating”.
Statements were also taken from the driver and the judge’s bodyguard as well as other witnesses.
In their reconstruction of events, detectives believe that Lady Justice Baraza obtained a gun from her driver, which she brandished at a cowering Ms Kerubo. There have also been allegations that she threatened to shoot the security guard in an incident which threatens to undermine judicial reforms.
The judge was resisting security screening, which is now common at malls, hotels, churches and other buildings because of terror threats.
But the driver and bodyguard, both police officers, in their statements, denied giving their weapons to the judge. They also denied that she handled any weapon during the incident.
Police also do not have usable CCTV evidence and said the footage could have been “distorted and thus was unreliable”. Village Market Managing Director Hamet Ehsani, through a spokesman, said the footage was not interfered with.
“We did not alter or edit the CCTV footage. We have no interest whatsoever in doing such a thing. After all, the complainant is our guard,” he said.
Lady Justice Baraza, one of the top women in government, gave investigators two statements. A detective described the first one as “brief” while the second, which she gave during questioning, is said to be more detailed and lengthy. It is this second statement which appears to have convinced the officers that a crime was committed.
The police sources said although the location of the scuffle is covered by 16 surveillance cameras, they were given footage from only two. The management clarified that only two covered the place where the incident is alleged to have occurred.
In her complaint, Ms Kerubo said the deputy CJ was dropped at the Village Market at around 6pm in a blue Toyota Prado with GK registration.
She was carrying a small black purse and walked past the security desk towards a pharmacy without being screened.
She insisted that the deputy CJ undergoes security checks like other visitors at the premise.“I followed her to the pharmacy’s counter, oblivious of the danger I was exposing myself to,” said Ms Kerubo.
The guards had been ordered to step up security measures, just like all other public places in Kenya, because of the threat posed by Al-Shabaab, the Somali Islamist militants under attack by the Kenya Defence Forces.
Ms Kerubo said that the judge told her that she was a senior government official before dismissing her, saying that she ought to know senior people.
But the guard stood firm and insisted that she had to check her purse.
“As we were arguing, her male bodyguard came nearer. She ordered him to shoot me, but he declined,” said Ms Kerubo. The deputy CJ then allegedly left for the parking lot, only to return with a pistol, the guard told police when she reported the incident at Gigiri.

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