Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula could have been a high-ranking judicial officer had he stuck to his early career days in the Judiciary.
Unknown to many, Senator Wetangula was appointed as a magistrate after completing his Law degree at the University of Nairobi.
The information is contained in his archived biography at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he once served as a Minister.
According to the records, Wetangula was stationed in Nairobi and Mombasa. However not much is known about particular cases he handled or the rulings he made.
After serving as a magistrate for one year, Wetangula resigned and joined private practice as an advocate of the high court.
One of his very first cases after his short-lived career in the Judiciary was defending soldiers who had been accused of attempting to overthrow the government in 1982.
He was now on the opposite side of the courtroom and he maintained, that as a lawyer, one has to be ready to defend anyone whether a suspect or an accuser.
Wetangula was then paid Ksh 30,000 for handling the high-profile case.
In a twist of fate, it is in his private practice that he got acquainted with the late former President Daniel Moi who recruited Wetangula into his team of lawyers despite having acted for suspects who had been accused of attempting to overthrow his own government.
Wetangula’s former client Hezekiah Ochuka ruled the country for the six hours that the chaotic coup was taking place.
Another of the best-kept pieces of Wetangula’s history is how he lent Ksh12 million to his fellow politician as a soft loan without any documentation in 2010.
According to the Senator, former Minister Danson Mungatana told him he was distressed and needed urgent help.
Unfortunately, the two would end up in court where Wetangula sought seek legal redress after Mungatana’s cheques bounced due to lack of sufficient funds.
