Chief Justice David Maraga on Friday expressed fears of a corruption cartel involving senior judicial officers who have been colluding with accountants to misappropriate funds.
Speaking during the annual conference of the Kenya Judges and Magistrates Association in Nairobi, Maraga divulged that a report by Judiciary’s Risk and Audit Departments exposed misuse of Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) by judicial officers in collaboration with accountants.
“We are accountable to the public. Cases of corruption will therefore be dealt with firmly,” Maraga affirmed.
The CJ warned that he was ready to deal with the corrupt officers in a bid to clean up the judiciary, adding that he would start by implementing tough laws to deal with corruption.
Maraga stated that all judicial officers must lead by example and submit their daily returns to the Performance Management Directorate for accountability.
“Professional etiquette in terms of official dress codes must be maintained. I have no problem with Fridays. That is, however, no licence for judicial officers to adorn T-shirts, jeans and such like attires,” the CJ affirmed.
Cases of corruption in the Judiciary have been reported in the past especially bribery and misuse of money collected during proceedings which the CJ has promised to deal with.
