The government is alleged to have denied a request by Supreme Court judges to provide extra security after one of their bodyguards was shot, preventing them from holding a hearing that could have delayed last week’s presidential election.
According to Reuters, a Senior Judicial source disclosed that the government rejected their request to improve their security especially after Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu’s bodyguard was shot.
However, Interior ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka told Reuters that security for all the judges was beefed up in the wake of the shooting. He affirmed that anyone stating otherwise was lying.
[caption caption="Deputy Chief Justice Philomena Mwilu"]
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The government ruled the bodyguard’s shooting as a robbery rather than an attempt to intimidate the judges, who were scared due to the cases that were before them challenging the repeat presidential election of October 26.
"Treating the shooting as a regular crime angered the judges, who demanded they get extra security," the judicial source revealed to Reuters.
“In Kenya, ordinary criminals don’t attack government vehicles driven by armed government agents who know how to shoot,” the source stated.
The judges demanded that their security be publicly guaranteed by the executive, given the tensions over the election or else they would refuse to attend hearings, the source further revealed.
The shooting was condemned by several international envoys who expressed their disappointment in the continued interference with the Judicial process.
European Union monitoring mission raised the issue of intimidation after a Supreme Court hearing failed to go ahead as scheduled on Oct. 25, warning that it was vital for judges to be allowed to work in freedom and safety.
“The lack of a quorum is highly unusual for a Supreme Court hearing and it has raised serious questions among Kenyan stakeholders, including about possible political interference,” their statement read in part.
An unknown gunman shot police constable Titus Musyoka, who is DCJ Mwilu’s bodyguard on the shoulder, at Marsabit Plaza where he had been sent to buy flowers by the deputy Chief Justice.
[caption caption="(left) DCJ Mwilu"]
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