Chief Justice David Maraga on Thursday, January 23 while delivering an address on the State of the Judiciary and Administration of Justice Report (SOJAR) 2018-2019, opened up on the controversial case of the Akasha brothers.
Baktash Akasha, and his younger brother, Ibrahim, were on January 31, 2017, extradited to the United States to face charges of running an international drug trafficking operation. In their report, US investigators disclosed that the Akashas paid off several Kenyan judges and government officials in a bid to stall the extradition process, which began in May 2016.
Directing his message to President Uhuru Kenyatta who was in attendance, Maraga described the widely publicised case as 'embarrassing', not just for the Judiciary but Kenya at large.
"Recently you spoke about the Akasha case and I agree with you your excellency, that's a shame to our country.
"That's a shame to our country and as I have said before, it is one matter that embarrasses every one of us, but I'm sure you have reports and you know how that is done.
"It is not only the Judiciary, but it also involves literally all of the stakeholders in the justice system," Maraga asserted.
US Prosecutor George Berman had in papers filed before US District Court Presiding Judge Victor Marrero, revealed the influence the Akasha brothers held with senior government officials in the country.
“They paid bribes to Kenyan law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, and at least three judges, and their scheme was successful for years. First, the defendant and his co-defendants were able to obtain bail, which allowed them to escalate their efforts to obstruct justice in the United States.
“Following their release, the defendant and his co-defendants were able to obtain repeated adjournments of court dates in the hopes that it would weaken the US government’s case, due to a loss of witnesses and evidence,” Berman claimed.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, weighed in on the matter in October 2019, stating that the Akasha saga was an indictment of the Kenyan justice system.
“I was asking the DCI how many times they (Akashas) were released on bail and he told me they hardly spent one night in police custody. They walked in and walked out,” he revealed at a state function.
Baktash Akasha was on August 16, 2019, sentenced to 25 years in prison by a US court and ordered to pay a Ksh10 million fine while his brother Ibrahim was handed 23 years.
