CJ to Haji: Stop bringing weak cases to court
Chief Justice David Maraga has asked Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji to stop using Judiciary as scapegoat by bringing weak cases to court.
Maraga on Monday told Haji to bring water-tight cases in courts.
This comes after Haji expressed frustrations with the judiciary’s supposed lenience in dealing with corruption suspects. The DPP has numerously claimed that his efforts are frustrated by courts that either release suspects on easy bail terms or dismiss the cases altogether.
Maraga on Monday told Haji to present strong cases for determination.
“Let me say this and I am happy the DPP and the DCI (George Kinoti) are all here. Please bring the cases to court when you are ready. We have been forced to adjourn cases because witnesses are not there.
“Some (witnesses) fake illness so that they don’t appear in court. We are not going to allow any of you to use the Judiciary as scapegoat. If you bring a weak case to court in our judgement we will say why we threw out the case.” Maraga said
He made the remarks at the Supreme Court during the swearing-in of the new Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Eacc) chief executive Twalib Abdallah Mbarak.
The Chief Justice went on to acknowledge that there have been delays in determining some cases but revealed that he had moved on swiftly to address the issue by bringing 10 magistrates serving from other parts of the country to Nairobi to deal with backlog.
“I have had to bring magistrates from other parts to hear these cases (corruption related cases). We have 10 magistrates brought to Nairobi to deal with these cases and not any other.”
The CJ also asked all the stakeholders to play their part to help settle most of the corruption cases that seem to have stalled and have been subject of public debate.