Judges receive ‘strange letter’

BY WAHOME THUKU

KENYA: Three Court of Appeal judges have raised security concerns after a stranger walked into their courtroom and left a brown envelope on their desk.

Judges Philip Waki, Daniel Musinga and Steven Gatembu were then given the envelope by one of their clerks during the hearing of an election petition appeal.

The envelope is said to have been left behind by an elderly man who did not identify himself to any of the court officials. It contained lengthy writings about US President Barack Obama.

It is understood that the judges were on a 20-minute break when someone walked into the court and placed the envelope on the desk and walked out.

When the court resumed, one of the clerks handed the envelope to Justice Waki saying he had found it on the desk. Waki openly asked the lawyers present and members of the public how the envelope had found its way to their desk and who it belonged to.

One of the lawyers, Kibe Mungai, informed the court that during the break, he had seen an old man outside the courtroom, who said he wanted to deliver a letter to the judges.

“I told him to wait for the judges to return from the break so that he could pass the letter to them,” Mungai said.

Waki immediately handed over the envelope to another lawyer, Lawrence Karanja, to establish its content.

Mr Karanja told the court that it contained incoherent, handwritten notes about President Obama.

“It appears to have been written by someone with a mental problem,” he told the judges.

“It’s such kind of things that come up when judges are being vetted,” Waki quipped.

Judge Musinga said the issue also raised the question of security of the judicial officers in the premises.

“We can’t be safe here if we go for a 20-minute break only to find strange things placed on our desks,” Waki added.

He then ruled that the envelope was not relevant to the case before them.