Justice Said Chitembwe is a man that has hit national headlines in the past, in his capacity as the High Court judge.
His story spans from 1967 when he was born in Kwale County.
Education
The judge, who was a bright student, secured admission at the University of Nairobi and pursued a Bachelor of Law (LLB).
He graduated in 1990 and joined the Kenya School of Law in 1991. After completing his studies, he travelled to the United Kingdom for a Masters degree in Human Rights at the University of Wessex.
Currently, Chitembwe is pursuing a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.
Profession
The justice, who was appointed as a High Court Judge in 2009, has an aggregate experience of 29 years in the legal profession.
He has previously served in Kakamega, Malindi, Marsabit and Migori.
Further, the lawyer also served as the Corporation Secretary at the National Social Security Fund between 2003 and 2009.
Before that, he was a Proprietor of Said Chitembwe and Co. Advocates.
In April this year, Chitembwe unsuccessfully tried his hand at the Chief Justice position after the retirement of David Maraga.
Chitembwe, who was the first candidate to be interviewed, told the interviewers that there was no problem at the Supreme Court that needed fixing.
He was, however, pressed harder to state what needed to change, and he outlined that he would only focus on fixing the backlog of cases.
Spotlight
Chitembwe has found himself in the spotlight on a number of occasions. In 2009, he was arrested in Mombasa by anti-corruption agencies over fraud amounting to Ksh1.37 billion and abuse of power.
However, in 2012, he was acquitted of the charges.
11 years later, in July 2021, the judge, alongside his colleague Aggrey Muchelule, was arrested on allegations of being implicated in a corruption scandal.
The two were accused of taking bribes for various cases they were assigned.
Following their arrest, Chief Justice Martha Koome lamented that she had not received a formal report as the Head of Judiciary or the Chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission on their arrests by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
"The arrest of the two Judges has caused anxiety among Judges and Judicial Officers. I assure all Judges and Judicial officers that the independence of the Judiciary and their constitutional duties are protected by the Constitution," she affirmed.
